NASA’s Parker Solar Probe created record-breaking history by reaching closest to the Sun on December 24. This achievement was confirmed by the US space agency on Friday, December 27.
NASA said its Parker Solar Probe is on a mission to “touch” the Sun. It was launched in 2018 and is slowly orbiting the Sun, using flybys of Venus to pull it into a tight orbit with the Sun.
Parker Solar Probe narrowly missed its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on December 24, 2024. It flew into the Sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona.
The spacecraft was out of contact with Earth due to disruptions in signal transmission while it was close to the Sun. It was reported that the spacecraft was not able to send signals back to its operators indicating its position after flight until December 27.
NASA finally received Parker Solar Probe’s “beacon tone” late on December 26 (local time), confirming that the spacecraft was safe.
“After seven days of silence, Parker has resumed communications with Earth after flying just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface – the closest it has come to any human-made object,” NASA said. Said.
Simply put, it was the closest solar flyby in history.
Parker traveled at a top speed of approximately 430,000 mph (690,000 kph), fast enough to fly from the US capital Washington to Tokyo, Japan in less than a minute. According to the NASA website, the spacecraft endured temperatures of up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius).
The spacecraft is expected to send back detailed telemetry data on its position on January 1.
What does a record breaking fly mean?
NASA said that by getting closer to the Sun than ever before, Parker Solar Probe will “reveal secrets about our star that may help protect our technology and support our future exploration.”
This close-up study of the Sun allows Parker Solar Probe to take measurements that help scientists better understand how material in this region heats up to millions of degrees.
It could also help trace the origin of the solar wind (the constant flow of material ejected from the Sun), and explore how energetic particles are accelerated to close to the speed of light.
Previous close passes have helped scientists trace the origins of structures in the solar wind and map the outer limits of the Sun’s atmosphere.
