NASA says that the Parker Solar Probe is operating normally after passing only 6.1 million kilometers above the surface of the Sun.
The US space agency has confirmed that its Parker Solar Probe is safe after it achieved the closest approach to the Sun ever recorded by a man-made object.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said early Friday that the probe passed only 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) above the surface of the sun on December 24.
The agency reported that the object flew into the sun’s outer atmosphere — known as the corona — “at a blazing speed of 430,000 mph (692 km/h) — faster than any man-made object has ever moved.”
NASA said that its team received a beacon signal late on Thursday confirming that the probe had successfully approached and was operating normally.
“Flying this close to the sun is a historic moment in the first human mission to a star,” Nikki Fox, head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.
Parker Solar Probe has made history.
After seven days of silence, Parker resumed contact with Earth, confirming that it was in good health after soaring just 3.8 million miles from the surface of the sun – the closest a man-made object has ever been to a star. https://t.co/YgLBDsRlGy pic.twitter.com/UMCNq0BzhA
— NASA (@NASASun) December 27, 2024
Scientists hope that the probe, which was launched in 2018, will help them learn more about the closest star to Earth.
“By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its effects throughout our solar system, including the technology we use every day on Earth and in space, as well as learn about the workings of stars throughout the universe to aid in our search for the Sun.” “Habitable worlds beyond our home planet,” Fox said.
NASA explained that the vehicle is equipped with a shield that protects it from the intense heat in the sun’s corona and can withstand temperatures of up to 1,400 degrees Celsius (2,600 degrees Fahrenheit).
As it completes its approach, the Parker Solar Probe is expected to orbit the Sun at this distance until at least September.
NASA said the spacecraft is expected to send back detailed telemetry data about its condition on January 1.
Amitabha Ghosh, a NASA scientist, said that experts still do not know much about the sun despite its enormous importance to life on Earth.
“If the sun stopped shining even for a day, all life on Earth would be destroyed. We are so dependent on the sun and yet we know so little,” Ghosh told Al Jazeera.
He said that the information that can be obtained from the Parker Solar Probe could answer a series of important questions, including how the sun heats, how it transfers that heat, and what constitutes what is known as the solar wind.
“These are very important scientific questions to understand,” Ghosh said.
Parker Solar has called Rob home!
Just 3.8 million miles after passing from the sun’s surface on December 24 — the closest solar flyby in history — we received a Parker Solar Probe beacon tone confirming that the spacecraft was safe. https://t.co/zbWT7iDVtP
— NASA (@NASASun) December 27, 2024
