"Reduced solar activity leads to the cooling of Earth's upper atmosphere and if Earth's upper atmosphere is cooler then there is less drag up there on satellites and this means we are left with much more debris up there - which is also something astronauts have to look out for"..
The Ulysses mission is a co-operative venture between the US space agency and the European Space Agency (Esa). Launched by the shuttle in 1990, it was the first satellite to study the space environment above and below the Sun's poles.
It samples the solar wind and solar magnetic field as it circles the star in a six-year orbit that also carries it out to Jupiter and back.
But the harsh conditions of space are now slowly taking their toll on the spacecraft.
Ulysses' main transmitter no longer works and it is struggling to put enough power into its heating systems. With the satellite currently moving away from the Sun, it is gradually getting colder; and engineers expect the hydrazine fuel used in its thrusters to freeze very soon.
The entire Sun is blowing significantly less hard - about 20-25% less hard - than it was during the last solar minimum 10-15 years ago!!
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