We present an analysis of the first connection mosaic made by the SPICE instrument on board the ESA / NASA Solar Orbiter mission on March 2, 2022. The data will be used to map coronal composition that will be compared with in-situ measurements taken by SWA/HIS to establish the coronal origin of the solar wind plasma observed at Solar Orbiter. The SPICE spectral lines were chosen to have varying sensitivity to the first ionization potential (FIP) effect, and therefore the radiances of the spectral lines will vary significantly depending on whether the elemental composition is coronal or photospheric. We investigate the link between the behavior of sulfur and the hypothesis that Alfvén waves drive FIP fractionation above the chromosphere. We performed temperature diagnostics using line ratios and emission measure (EM) loci, and computed relative FIP biases using three different approaches (two-line ratio (2LR), ratios of linear combinations of spectral lines (LCR), and differential emission measure (DEM) inversion) in order to perform composition diagnostics in the corona. We then compared the SPICE composition analysis and EUI data of the potential solar wind source regions to the SWA / HIS data products. Radiance maps were extracted from SPICE spectral data cubes, with values matching previous observations. We find isothermal plasma of around $LogT=5.8$ for the AR loops targeted, and that higher FIP-bias values are present at the footpoints of the coronal loops associated with two ARs. Comparing the results with the SWA/HIS data products encourages us to think that Solar Orbiter was connected to a source of slow solar wind during this observation campaign. black We demonstrate FIP fractionation in observations of the upper chromosphere and transition region emphasized by the behavior of the intermediate-FIP element sulfur.

Context. The Solar Orbiter mission completed its first remote-sensing observation windows in the spring of 2022. On 2 April 2022, an M-class flare followed by a filament eruption was seen both by the instruments on board the mission and from several observatories in Earth's orbit, providing an unprecedented view of a flaring region with a large range of observations.Aims. We aim to understand the nature of the flaring and filament eruption events via the analysis of the available dataset. The complexity of the observed features is compared with the predictions given by the standard flare model in 3D.Methods. In this paper, we use the observations from a multi-view dataset, which includes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imaging to spectroscopy and magnetic field measurements. These data come from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Hinode, as well as several instruments on Solar Orbiter.Results. The large temporal coverage of the region allows us to analyse the whole sequence of the filament eruption starting with its pre-eruptive state. Information given by spectropolarimetry from SDO/HMI and Solar Orbiter PHI/HRT shows that a parasitic polarity emerging underneath the filament is responsible for bringing the flux rope to an unstable state. As the flux rope erupts, Hinode EIS captures blue-shifted emission in the transition region and coronal lines in the northern leg of the flux rope prior to the flare peak. This may be revealing the unwinding of one of the flux rope legs. At the same time, Solar Orbiter SPICE captures the whole region, complementing the Doppler diagnostics of the filament eruption. Analyses of the formation and evolution of a complex set of flare ribbons and loops, of the hard and soft X-ray emissions with STIX, show that the parasitic emerging bipole plays an important role in the evolution of the flaring region.Conclusions. The extensive dataset covering this M-class flare event demonstrates how important multiple viewpoints and varied observations are in order to understand the complexity of flaring regions. While the analysed data are overall consistent with the standard flare model, the present particular magnetic configuration shows that surrounding magnetic activity such as nearby emergence needs to be taken into account to fully understand the processes at work. This filament eruption is the first to be covered from different angles by spectroscopic instruments, and provides an unprecedented diagnostic of the multi-thermal structures present before and during the flare. This complete dataset of an eruptive event showcases the capabilities of coordinated observations with the Solar Orbiter mission.

Context. The smallest extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) brightening events that were detected so far, called campfires, have recently been uncovered by the High Resolution EUV telescope (HRIEUV), which is part of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on board Solar Orbiter. HRIEUV has a broad bandpass centered at 17.4 nm that is dominated by Fe IX and Fe X emission at about 1 MK. Aims. We study the thermal properties of EUI brightening events by simultaneously observing their responses at different wavelengths using spectral data from the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) also on board Solar Orbiter and imaging data from EUI. Methods. We studied three EUI brightenings that were identified in HRIEUV data that lie within the small areas covered by the slit of the SPICE EUV spectrometer. We obtained the line intensities of the spectral profiles by Gaussian fitting. These diagnostics were used to study the evolution of the EUI brightenings over time at the different line-formation temperatures. Results. We find that (i) the detection of these EUI brightenings is at the limit of the SPICE capabilities. They could not have been independently identified in the data without the aid of HRIEUV observations. (ii) Two of these EUI brightenings with longer lifetimes are observed up to Ne VIII temperatures (0.6 MK). (iii) All of the events are detectable in O VI (0.3 MK), and the two longer-lived events are also detected in other transition region (TR) lines. (iv) In one case, we observe two peaks in the intensity light curve of the TR lines that are separated by 2.7 min for C III and 1.2 min for O VI. The Ne VIII intensity shows a single peak between the two peak times of the TR line intensity. Conclusions. Spectral data from SPICE allow us to follow the thermal properties of EUI brightenings. Our results indicate that at least some EUI brightenings barely reach coronal temperatures.

We present first science observations taken during the commissioning activities of the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument on the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission. SPICE is a high-resolution imaging spectrometer operating at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths. In this paper we illustrate the possible types of observations to give prospective users a better understanding of the science capabilities of SPICE. The paper discusses the first observations of the Sun on different targets and presents an example of the full spectra from the quiet Sun, identifying over 40 spectral lines from neutral hydrogen and ions of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, neon, sulphur, magnesium, and iron. These lines cover the temperature range between 20,000 K and 1 million K (10MK in flares), providing slices of the Sun's atmosphere in narrow temperature intervals. We provide a list of count rates for the 23 brightest spectral lines. We show examples of raster images of the quiet Sun in several strong transition region lines, where we have found unusually bright, compact structures in the quiet Sun network, with extreme intensities up to 25 times greater than the average intensity across the image. The lifetimes of these structures can exceed 2.5 hours. We identify them as a transition region signature of coronal bright points and compare their areas and intensity enhancements. We also show the first above-limb measurements with SPICE above the polar limb in C III, O VI, and Ne VIII lines, and far off limb measurements in the equatorial plane in Mg IX, Ne VIII, and O VI lines. We discuss the potential to use abundance diagnostics methods to study the variability of the elemental composition that can be compared with in situ measurements to help confirm the magnetic connection between the spacecraft location and the Sun's surface, and locate the sources of the solar wind.

The Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument is a high-resolution imaging spectrometer operating at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths. In this paper, we present the concept, design, and pre-launch performance of this facility instrument on the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission. The goal of this paper is to give prospective users a better understanding of the possible types of observations, the data acquisition, and the sources that contribute to the instrument's signal. The paper discusses the science objectives, with a focus on the SPICE-specific aspects, before presenting the instrument's design, including optical, mechanical, thermal, and electronics aspects. This is followed by a characterisation and calibration of the instrument's performance. The paper concludes with descriptions of the operations concept and data processing. The performance measurements of the various instrument parameters meet the requirements derived from the mission's science objectives. The SPICE instrument is ready to perform measurements that will provide vital contributions to the scientific success of the Solar Orbiter mission.

Context. The Solar Orbiter spacecraft will be equipped with a wide range of remote-sensing (RS) and in situ (IS) instruments to record novel and unprecedented measurements of the solar atmosphere and the inner heliosphere. To take full advantage of these new datasets, tools and techniques must be developed to ease multi-instrument and multi-spacecraft studies. In particular the currently inaccessible low solar corona below two solar radii can only be observed remotely. Furthermore techniques must be used to retrieve coronal plasma properties in time and in three dimensional (3D) space. Solar Orbiter will run complex observation campaigns that provide interesting opportunities to maximise the likelihood of linking IS data to their source region near the Sun. Several RS instruments can be directed to specific targets situated on the solar disk just days before data acquisition. To compare IS and RS, data we must improve our understanding of how heliospheric probes magnetically connect to the solar disk.Aims. The aim of the present paper is to briefly review how the current modelling of the Sun and its atmosphere can support Solar Orbiter science. We describe the results of a community-led effort by European Space Agency's Modelling and Data Analysis Working Group (MADAWG) to develop different models, tools, and techniques deemed necessary to test different theories for the physical processes that may occur in the solar plasma. The focus here is on the large scales and little is described with regards to kinetic processes. To exploit future IS and RS data fully, many techniques have been adapted to model the evolving 3D solar magneto-plasma from the solar interior to the solar wind. A particular focus in the paper is placed on techniques that can estimate how Solar Orbiter will connect magnetically through the complex coronal magnetic fields to various photospheric and coronal features in support of spacecraft operations and future scientific studies.Methods. Recent missions such as STEREO, provided great opportunities for RS, IS, and multi-spacecraft studies. We summarise the achievements and highlight the challenges faced during these investigations, many of which motivated the Solar Orbiter mission. We present the new tools and techniques developed by the MADAWG to support the science operations and the analysis of the data from the many instruments on Solar Orbiter.Results. This article reviews current modelling and tool developments that ease the comparison of model results with RS and IS data made available by current and upcoming missions. It also describes the modelling strategy to support the science operations and subsequent exploitation of Solar Orbiter data in order to maximise the scientific output of the mission.Conclusions. The on-going community effort presented in this paper has provided new models and tools necessary to support mission operations as well as the science exploitation of the Solar Orbiter data. The tools and techniques will no doubt evolve significantly as we refine our procedure and methodology during the first year of operations of this highly promising mission.

Context. To meet the scientific objectives of the mission, the Solar Orbiter spacecraft carries a suite of in-situ (IS) and remote sensing (RS) instruments designed for joint operations with inter-instrument communication capabilities. Indeed, previous missions have shown that the Sun (imaged by the RS instruments) and the heliosphere (mainly sampled by the IS instruments) should be considered as an integrated system rather than separate entities. Many of the advances expected from Solar Orbiter rely on this synergistic approach between IS and RS measurements. Aims. Many aspects of hardware development, integration, testing, and operations are common to two or more RS instruments. In this paper, we describe the coordination effort initiated from the early mission phases by the Remote Sensing Working Group. We review the scientific goals and challenges, and give an overview of the technical solutions devised to successfully operate these instruments together. Methods. A major constraint for the RS instruments is the limited telemetry (TM) bandwidth of the Solar Orbiter deep-space mission compared to missions in Earth orbit. Hence, many of the strategies developed to maximise the scientific return from these instruments revolve around the optimisation of TM usage, relying for example on onboard autonomy for data processing, compression, and selection for downlink. The planning process itself has been optimised to alleviate the dynamic nature of the targets, and an inter-instrument communication scheme has been implemented which can be used to autonomously alter the observing modes. We also outline the plans for in-flight cross-calibration, which will be essential to the joint data reduction and analysis. Results. The RS instrument package on Solar Orbiter will carry out comprehensive measurements from the solar interior to the inner heliosphere. Thanks to the close coordination between the instrument teams and the European Space Agency, several challenges specific to the RS suite were identified and addressed in a timely manner.

Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate?; (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability?; (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?; (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission's science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (affecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit's science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans, resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime. This allows for all four mission goals to be addressed. In this paper, we introduce Solar Orbiter's SAP through a series of examples and the strategy being followed.

Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate?; (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability?; (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?; (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission’s science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (affecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit’s science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans, resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime. This allows for all four mission goals to be addressed. In this paper, we introduce Solar Orbiter’s SAP through a series of examples and the strategy being followed.

Aims. The Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument is a high-resolution imaging spectrometer operating at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. In this paper, we present the concept, design, and pre-launch performance of this facility instrument on the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission.Methods. The goal of this paper is to give prospective users a better understanding of the possible types of observations, the data acquisition, and the sources that contribute to the instrument's signal.Results. The paper discusses the science objectives, with a focus on the SPICE-specific aspects, before presenting the instrument's design, including optical, mechanical, thermal, and electronics aspects. This is followed by a characterisation and calibration of the instrument's performance. The paper concludes with descriptions of the operations concept and data processing.Conclusions. The performance measurements of the various instrument parameters meet the requirements derived from the mission's science objectives. The SPICE instrument is ready to perform measurements that will provide vital contributions to the scientific success of the Solar Orbiter mission.

The intensity of the O IV 2s(2) 2p P-2-2s2p(2) P-4 and S IV 3 s(2) 3p P-2-3s 3p(2) (4) P intercombination lines around 1400 angstrom observed with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) provide a useful tool to diagnose the electron number density (N-e) in the solar transition region plasma. We measure the electron number density in a variety of solar features observed by IRIS, including an active region (AR) loop, plage and brightening, and the ribbon of the 22-June-2015 M 6.5 class flare. By using the emissivity ratios of O IV and S IVv lines, we find that our observations are consistent with the emitting plasma being near isothermal (logT[K] approximate to 5) and iso-density (N-e approximate to 10(10.6) cm(-3)) in the AR loop. Moreover, high electron number densities (N-e approximate to 10(13) cm(-3)) are obtained during the impulsive phase of the flare by using the S IV line ratio. We note that the S IV lines provide a higher range of density sensitivity than the O IV lines. Finally, we investigate the effects of high densities (N-e greater than or similar to 10(11) cm(-3)) on the ionization balance. In particular, the fractional ion abundances are found to be shifted towards lower temperatures for high densities compared to the low density case. We also explored the effects of a non-Maxwellian electron distribution on our diagnostic method.

The paper is a tribute to Nicol Peacock and has a focus on interests and developments at Culham Laboratory from ~ 1970 when Nicol led the UKAEA spectroscopy team. The paper charts a little of the evolution of these models and their data through the seventies and eighties on into this century at Culham. The paper concludes with the state of efforts to enable easy, universal access to spectral analysis across the scope of Culham activity, of which it is hoped Nicol would approve.