NASA's STEREO-A Spacecraft Returns Home After 17-Year Journey

NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft, after nearly 17 years, is making its first Earth flyby, providing a unique opportunity for collaboration with other NASA missions and new insights into the sun. STEREO-A, along with its twin STEREO-B, launched in 2006 and achieved the first stereoscopic view of the sun. During the Earth flyby, STEREO-A will combine views with other spacecraft to achieve 3D vision and gather measurements of active regions and coronal loops. The mission will also provide multipoint measurements of Earth-directed coronal mass ejections, offering a better understanding of their magnetic field evolution. As the sun approaches solar maximum, STEREO-A will experience a fundamentally different sun, providing valuable knowledge about solar activity.