NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has made history by flying within 3.8 million miles of the sun’s surface on Tuesday, December 24, at 6:53 a.m. EST. The spacecraft is designed to withstand extreme heat and intense radiation, making this closest approach unprecedented.
During its perihelion, the spacecraft was out of contact with Earth, but scientists are eagerly awaiting its first signal back. Mission teams have taken years to perfect Parker’s trajectory, which includes careful flybys of Venus to shrink its orbit around the sun.
The spacecraft relies on a 4.5-inch thick carbon-composite shield to protect sensitive instruments from temperatures above 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Sophisticated cooling systems also channel heat away from the core of the spacecraft, allowing it to record measurements of plasma, magnetic fields, and solar wind particles.
By collecting data from close range, Parker may reveal new insights into solar activity, including periods of heightened activity known as solar maxima. These events can spawn auroras at unexpected latitudes and threaten satellites with bursts of charged particles.
The mission is named after Dr. Eugene N. Parker, who proposed the existence of the solar wind back in the 1950s. The data from this flyby could provide unprecedented detail on solar activity, informing space weather forecasts critical for protecting satellites, power grids, and astronauts in orbit.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is a trailblazer in solar research, offering a new window into understanding our star and its effects on Earth. The mission has the potential to refine space weather forecasts, which could lead to improved warnings for regions vulnerable to blackouts.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/nasas-parker-solar-probe-reaches-closest-approach-to-the-sun-perihelion-survival-unknown