On Tuesday, NASA's Parker space probe attempted to come closer than ever to the Sun, coming within 6.2 million kilometers. The purpose of this mission is to study the atmosphere of the star, especially solar storms that can affect communication systems on Earth.
The team plans to communicate directly with the probe during the approach, but the navigation signal is expected to return on Friday, according to the space agency. Parker is expected to travel at about 400,000 miles per hour as it approaches the Sun. This speed is enough to fly from Washington to Tokyo, which is more than eight thousand kilometers away, in less than a minute.
The probe's heat shield will withstand extreme temperatures of about 870 to 930 degrees Celsius, but the research instruments inside will remain at about 29 degrees Celsius.
“Example of Brave Thinking”
“The Parker mission is an example of bold thinking at NASA and is doing something no one has done before to answer age-old questions about our universe,” Parker Solar Probe program scientist Aric Posner said in a statement.
This is the first close approach of the Parker spacecraft to the Sun on record. Two equally spaced events are scheduled for March 22 and June 19, 2025.
Parker Solar ProbeNASA
Parker's investigation began in August 2018. Its mission is expected to last for seven years.
The probe is named after Eugene Parker, an American astronomer who pioneered solar research. He died in 2022 at the age of 94.
Main image credit: NASA
