NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Flies Closer to the Sun Than Any Object Ever Has
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made history on Tuesday, breaking the record for orbiting the sun, the space agency confirmed. spacecraft Set new benchmarks In the early morning of December 24, it reached within 3.8 million miles of the sun’s outer corona atmosphere.
one Signal received by NASA operations team Later on December 26, the company acknowledged that the detector had survived the close encounter and was operating normally.
“Flying so close to the sun is a historic moment for humanity’s first stellar mission,” Nikki Fox, president of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement Friday.
When the spacecraft reaches its new location in January 2025, it will transmit data from this flyby back to Earth.
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According to NASA, the Parker Solar Probe can reach speeds of 430,000 miles per hour and can withstand temperatures up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius). Although the probe is scheduled to orbit the sun two more times, this mission marks its closest approach to the sun.
The next planned close solar crossings are expected to take place on March 22 and June 19, 2025.
“Data from unknown territories”
The mission is part of a broader effort by scientists to “perform unparalleled science with the potential to transform our understanding of our nearest stars,” the agency said in its statement. website.
The spacecraft was launched in 2018 and has flown by Venus multiple times, gradually approaching the sun. The flybys also provide scientists with insights into Venus, thanks to the ability of the onboard instruments to capture visible and near-infrared light from Venus, the agency said on its website. This allows researchers to peer through Venus’ dense clouds.
When the probe first entered the Sun’s atmosphere in 2021, it provided groundbreaking information about the solar corona.
“No man-made object has ever been so close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory,” Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe’s mission operations manager, said in a statement. Press release December. “We’re excited to hear back from the spacecraft as it swings around the sun.”
The Parker Solar Probe is part of NASA’s Living with the Stars program, which explores aspects of the solar system that affect life on Earth.
