The Parker probe did itsent a sign of life, one was actually written history page. The mission accomplished the closest flyby to the Sun ever beforereaching up to 6.1 million kilometers from our star. This was announced by NASA, which received the first sign of life shortly before 6.00 Italian time today December 27th.
Parker Solar Probe has called home!
After passing just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface on Dec. 24 — the closest solar flyby in history — we have received Parker Solar Probe’s beacon tone confirming the spacecraft is safe. https://t.co/zbWT7iDVtP
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) December 27, 2024
The mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) by LaurelIn the Maryland was out of contact with the spacecraft during its closest approach on December 24, with the Parker Solar Probe whizzing by at a speed of about 692.017 km/h until 6.1 million kilometers from our star, a distance never reached before.
The overflight occurred on December 24, 2024 at 12:53 pm Italian timeis the 22nd close pass of the probe to the sun, and it will not be the last given that at least two more are expected (22 March and 19 June 2025). But it’s the closest he’s ever gotten and will ever get since its launch in 2018.
On Dec. 24, our Parker Solar Probe will make history with a record-breaking closest approach to the Sun
Follow along in real time with this interactive visualization, brought to you by @NASA_eyes and @NASASun: https://t.co/DXeKvMdJsl pic.twitter.com/zQUdlozvqt
— NASA (@NASA) December 23, 2024
Previous flybys have helped scientists pinpoint the origins of structures in the solar wind and map the outer edge of the Sun’s atmosphere. But other “mysteries” remain that have long shrouded the Sun.
This close study of the Sun will allow scientists to unravel some issues, including the mechanism by which the solar corona heats up to millions of degrees, the so-calledcoronal heating problem‘, or that “strangeness” whereby, despite being further away from the sun’s main energy source (its nucleus), the corona is much hotter than the surface of the sunthe photosphere.
ParkerFurthermore, it should help scientists understand theorigin of solar wind (a continuous flow of material coming out of the Sun) and the reasons that allow energetic particles to be accelerated to a speed close to that of light.
The probe was developed as part of the program Living With a Star of NASA, managed by Goddard Space Flight Centerwhile APL designed, built spacecraft, effectively managing the mission for the US space agency.
It is expected to receive detailed telemetry data relating to its status on 1 January 2025.
Sources: Nasa / Nasa/X / Nasa Sun & Space/X
