ULYSSES, a joint project between ESA and NASA (named after the hero of a Greek legend), is charting the unknown reaches of space above and below the poles of the Sun. In particular, it is studying the solar wind that blows nonstop from the Sun and carves a huge bubble in space called the heliosphere. Ulysses has provided the first-ever map of the heliosphere from the equator to the poles. It was launched in October 1990. In 1994, Ulysses flew over the Sun's southern pole. By 1995, Ulysses had reached the Sun's northern pole. It is now on its way to fly over the poles a second time. Together with SOHO, Ulysses will play a significant part in observing the Sun's activity during the next solar maximum (peak of sunspot activity) in the year 2001.
