NASA’s Parker Probe to Make Historic Closest Flyby of the Sun on Christmas Eve- Know All About It

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is set to achieve a groundbreaking milestone today, on Christmas Eve, as it comes closer than ever to “touching the sun.” The spacecraft will approach within 6.1 million kilometers of the sun’s surface, heading eight times closer than Mercury’s orbit around the home star.

This historic mission will also see Parker breaking its own speed record, becoming the fastest human-made object as it zooms past the sun at incredible velocity.

Since its launch, the Parker Solar Probe has flown directly through the sun’s corona, the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere, which is visible during a total solar eclipse. While the probe is scheduled for a few more flybys in the next year, today’s approach is expected to be one of its closest.

Nick Pinkine, mission operations manager for the Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, highlighted the significance of this event. “No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory,” he stated.

As the spacecraft navigates the intense conditions near the sun on December 24, it will temporarily lose contact with Earth, but all systems onboard are reported to be functioning normally.

About the Parker Solar Probe

The Parker Solar Probe was designed to study the sun at unparalleled proximity, traveling seven times closer to the star than any previous mission. At its closest approach, it will reach speeds of 430,000 mph (690,000 kph), making it the fastest spacecraft ever built. Built with a heat shield capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,371 degrees Celsius), the probe is engineered to endure the sun’s harsh environment.

The spacecraft will continue circling the sun at this distance until at least September 2025.Scientists hope to better understand why the corona is hundreds of times hotter than the sun’s surface and what drives the solar wind, the supersonic stream of charged particles constantly blasting away from the sun.
 

The data gathered by Parker will help researchers to understand the sun’s impact on Earth, including how severe solar storms can disrupt radio communications and power grids.

The sun is currently at the maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, triggering colorful auroras in unexpected places.

“The sun is both our closest, friendliest neighbor,” said Westlake, a scientist on the Parker Solar Probe team, “but at times, it also shows its temper.”

(With inputs from AP)