NASA announced on Friday that its Parker Solar Probe is “safe” and functioning normally after achieving the closest-ever approach to the Sun by a human-made object.
On December 24, the spacecraft passed within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the Sun’s surface, venturing into its outer atmosphere, known as the corona.
This groundbreaking mission is designed to help scientists unravel mysteries surrounding the Sun, Earth’s closest star. The Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has been steadily inching closer to the Sun with the aid of gravitational assists from Venus.
According to NASA, the probe endured scorching temperatures of up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius) while traveling at an extraordinary speed of 430,000 mph (692,000 kph). Its ability to operate under such extreme conditions is critical to capturing invaluable data about the Sun’s behavior.
The spacecraft sent a “beacon tone” signal to the operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland just before midnight on Thursday, confirming its health and success. Detailed telemetry data from the probe is expected to arrive by January 1, providing insights into its close encounter with the Sun.
“This close-up study of the Sun allows Parker Solar Probe to take measurements that help scientists better understand how material in this region gets heated to millions of degrees, trace the origin of the solar wind (a continuous flow of material escaping the Sun), and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to near light speed,” NASA explained.
As the first mission of its kind, the Parker Solar Probe represents a major milestone in solar research, bringing scientists closer than ever to understanding the complexities of the Sun and its impact on the solar system.
Melissa Enoch
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