NASA’s Parker spacecraft continues to achieve new milestones as it ventures closer to the surface of the Sun, providing further insights into the star’s atmosphere and its impact on space weather.
On September 27th, Parker’s probe broke its own record by approaching the Sun at a speed of approximately 7.26 million kilometers per hour, according to NASA’s announcement. This marks the 17th close approach during the spacecraft’s journey around the Sun, which lasts from September 22nd to October 3rd. Thanks to a gravitational assist from Venus in August, the probe reached a speed of 635,266 kilometers per hour, solidifying its position as the fastest human-made object in history, as reported by Gizmodo.
Simulating Parker Probe’s Journey Through the Sun’s Atmosphere. (Image: WIRED).
Since its launch in August 2018, the Parker spacecraft has consistently set numerous records. It surpassed the 1976 record of the Helios 2 space probe, becoming the closest human-made object to the Sun to date. Additionally, Parker is the first spacecraft to pass through the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere known as the solar corona.
Equipped with advanced heat shielding, the probe’s mission is to study the solar corona and collect vital data. The overarching goal is to explore the structure of the Sun, the solar corona, and the origin of solar winds. Such information is highly valuable because solar processes can impact space weather, posing threats to satellites, communication networks, and even Earth’s power grids.
In early September, Parker passed through one of the most intense coronal mass ejections (CMEs) ever observed. This event validated a theory from two decades ago suggesting that CMEs interact with interplanetary dust, aiding in the prediction of space weather.
According to NASA, despite its proximity to the Sun, the Parker spacecraft continues to maintain its excellent condition. The spacecraft will transmit its current status data to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory on October 1st, followed by predominantly scientific data about solar winds, assisting researchers in gaining a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of the star within our solar system.