  The heliosphere represents a uniquely accessible domain of space, where
fundamental physical processes common to solar, astrophysical and laboratory
plasmas can be studied under conditions impossible to reproduce on Earth and
unfeasible to observe from astronomical distances. Solar Orbiter, the first
mission of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme, will address the central
question of heliophysics: How does the Sun create and control the heliosphere?
In this paper, we present the scientific goals of the mission and provide an
overview of the mission implementation.
