NASA Spacecraft
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Friday that its Parker Solar Probe is “safe” and functioning normally after achieving the closest approach to the Sun by any human-made object.
The spacecraft completed this historic milestone on December 24, venturing just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the Sun’s surface.
This proximity allowed it to penetrate the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona, marking a significant step in the mission to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s nearest star.
NASA confirmed that the Parker Solar Probe sent a signal, known as a beacon tone, back to the operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.
The signal, received just before midnight on Thursday, indicated that the spacecraft is in good health following its perilous journey through the intense heat and radiation of the Sun’s vicinity. Detailed telemetry data about the probe’s status is expected to arrive on January 1, according to NASA.
During its close approach, the Parker Solar Probe reached speeds of up to 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometers per hour), making it the fastest human-made object ever created.
It also endured extreme temperatures of approximately 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius), a testament to its advanced heat-resistant design.
The spacecraft’s proximity to the Sun enables scientists to study the star’s corona in unprecedented detail.
NASA explained that this close-up research allows the probe to collect crucial data on how material in the corona is heated to millions of degrees, trace the origins of the solar wind—a continuous flow of charged particles streaming from the Sun—and understand the mechanisms that accelerate energetic particles to nearly the speed of light.
Launched in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe has been steadily closing in on the Sun through a series of flybys of Venus.
These gravitational assists have progressively tightened its orbit around the Sun, allowing it to achieve record-breaking closeness while fulfilling its mission objectives.
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