Ulysses was a joint mission of NASA and the European Space Agency, designed to study the Sun from a new vantage point, over its poles. Because the planets orbit near the plane of the Sun's equator, the spacecraft had to be sent first to Jupiter, whose gravity bent its path out of that plane. It was launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery, and flew past Jupiter in 1992, then passed over the Sun's south and north poles several times. It revealed that the solar magnetic field and solar wind are more complex than had been thought, and mapped the heliosphere in three dimensions. The mission lasted much longer than planned and ended in 2009.
Before and after
- 12 September 1990Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany
- 14 September 1990The first gene therapy treatment is given
- from 1 October 1990 to 4 August 1993Rwandan Civil War
- 3 October 1990German reunification
- 6 October 1990Launch of Ulysses
- 17 October 1990Founding of IMDb
- from 2 November 1990 to 21 July 1992Transnistria War
- 9 November 1990Release of Dances with Wolves
- 30 November 1990Birth of Magnus Carlsen
More in Universe & space
- 16 February 1948Discovery of Miranda
- 5 September 1977Launch of Voyager 1
- 4 March 1979Discovery of Metis
- 5 March 1979Discovery of Thebe
- 8 July 1979Discovery of Adrastea
- 16 June 1989Discovery of Proteus
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.