Question: Would you have to be wary of conductive properties in this? How is space with these sort of variables?

Helen O'Brien answered on 8 Mar 2018:

Good question. All spacecraft have to be wary of conductive materials. Both thermal and electrical conductance.
For Solar Orbiter, thermally, we need to get the balance right. The spacecraft absorbs heat from the sun, making it hotter, but it also has special radiators (like in your house), which point away from the sun, towards deep space (which is cold) and radiate heat away, making the spacecraft cooler. When these two aspects are balanced, the spacecraft keeps itself at just the right temperature.