NASA’s Parker Solar Probe makes history with closest pass to Sun
December 29, 2024
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has completed the closest ever approach to the Sun, flying just 3.8 million miles above its surface on December 24.
Travelling at 430,000 miles per hour — the fastest speed ever recorded for a human-made object — the probe successfully navigated the Sun’s extreme environment, as confirmed by a signal received on December 26.
This unprecedented achievement marks a new chapter in solar exploration, enabling scientists to gather unique data that could transform our understanding of the Sun.
Launched in 2018, Parker Solar Probe has spent six years strategically manoeuvring closer to the Sun, using the gravitational pull of Venus in seven flybys to refine its trajectory.
Following its final Venus flyby in November 2024, the spacecraft entered a carefully calculated orbit, allowing it to approach the Sun every three months while avoiding damage from its intense heat and radiation.
Protected by a specialised carbon foam heat shield, the spacecraft is designed to endure the extreme temperatures of the Sun’s corona, where heat can surpass 1 million degrees Fahrenheit.
While the shield reaches a surface temperature of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit in this environment, it keeps the probe’s instruments at a manageable temperature, enabling it to continue its groundbreaking mission safely.
“Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star,” said Nicky Fox, lead at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
“By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space, as well as learn about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”
“Parker Solar Probe is braving one of the most extreme environments in space and exceeding all expectations,” said Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), which designed, built, and operates the spacecraft.
“This mission is ushering a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the Sun’s deepest and most enduring mysteries.”
