NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make its second close pass to the sun, repeating a record-breaking journey that showcases its speed and agility. The probe is set to fly within 3.8 million miles of the scorching sun on Saturday, narrowly surpassing its previous closest approach.
Launched in 2018, Parker has been designed to capture data from the sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona. Scientists are eager to analyze the findings, which may help them better understand why the corona is significantly hotter than the sun’s surface and what drives the solar wind – a supersonic stream of charged particles constantly blasting away from the sun.
Parker holds the record for the fastest spacecraft built by humans, reaching speeds of up to 430,000 mph during its closest approach. The mission team will not receive data from Parker until Tuesday afternoon due to the flyby’s out-of-communication range.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/nasa-spacecraft-make-close-pass-sun-120031179