NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday morning when it flew through the atmosphere of the Sun, becoming the closest human-made object to reach a star.
The spacecraft was launched in Aug. 2018 with the mission to help further our understanding of our solar system’s star by taking samples of its atmosphere, according to NASA.
To study the Sun like no other spacecraft before, the Parker Solar Probe has a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield built to withstand temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
“This is a major engineering accomplishment,” said NASA Parker Solar Probe Project Scientist Adam Szabo.
The spacecraft already made history in Dec. 2021, when it became the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun’s upper atmosphere.
When NASA’s Parker Solar Probe passed through the Sun’s atmosphere Tuesday morning, it became the closest object ever created by humans to reach a star.
August saw the launch of the spacecraft. 2018 with the goal to collect samples of the star’s atmosphere in order to advance our knowledge of our solar system, according to NASA.
At 6:53 a.m., on Christmas Eve, it made its most recent and closest flyby of the star. A. EST at 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun.
The spacecraft will dive through plasma plumes that are still connected to the Sun during this approach. This is close enough to go inside a solar eruption, NASA says, like a surfer duck-diving beneath a wave in the ocean.
Parker won’t be reachable by scientists until December. 27, at which point another signal will be sent to verify its status.
Prior to making a kiss with the sun, NASA’s Parker Space Probe completes the last Venus flyby.
by the end of January. According to NASA, Parker will have a clear view of Earth by 2025, which will enable it to begin transmitting data it collected from the Sun back to researchers.
With a 4 ½-inch-thick carbon-composite shield designed to withstand temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the Parker Solar Probe will be able to study the Sun like no other spacecraft before.
According to NASA Parker Solar Probe Project Scientist Adam Szabo, “This is a major engineering accomplishment.”.
History was already made by the spacecraft in December. It became the first spacecraft to pass through the upper atmosphere of the Sun in 2021.
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