ESA's Solar Orbiter mission from the Sun's close-up glare is set to be protected by a pigment that was once daubed onto prehistoric cave paintings. The titanium heat shield of the spacecraft will be covered by burnt bone charcoal using a novel technique. To perform high-resolution imaging of our parent star from as close as 42 million km, the Solar Orbiter, due for launch in 2017, will carry a … [Read more...]