The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter is approaching the closest point to the sun in its current orbit. It is an important time for the mission's science activities, and the mission control team at ESA is constantly preparing for any possible problems the spacecraft might face as it swoops past our active and unpredictable star.

Mission control to Solar Orbiter. Come in Solar Orbiter...

"It's our worst-case scenario," says flight controller Daniel Lakey. "If Solar Orbiter were to experience some major issue on board, and then we were unable to reestablish communications."

Solar Orbiter's close approach to the sun ("perihelion") is a period of peak scientific activity.

It requires flight control teams and flight dynamics experts at ESA's ESOC mission control center to carry out a series of highly complex operations.

If something goes wrong during these activities, the spacecraft could auto-reset itself into "safe mode."

In safe mode, the spacecraft's software restarts and only its most basic functions are reactivated. Teams on Earth then work out what triggered the safe mode, solve the issue, and restart more advanced systems like scientific instruments.