NASA’s Parker solar probe made history on Tuesday (24) by getting closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft, with its thermal shield enduring temperatures above 930 degrees Celsius.
Launched in August 2018, the probe started a seven-year expedition to gather scientific information from space and forecast space weather incidents that might impact Earth.
Historic airplane journey
The scheduled flyover in Brasilia is set for 8:53 on Tuesday, but confirmation is delayed until Friday because contact with the probe is lost during its close proximity to the Sun.
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Arik Posner, a scientist working on the Parker Solar Probe program, described NASA’s bold missions as endeavors that aim to tackle enduring mysteries about our universe.
“We are looking forward to getting the initial ship status report and commencing the receipt of scientific information in the upcoming weeks,” he stated.
Parker’s thermal shield is highly efficient, maintaining the probe’s internal instruments at around 29°C as it explores the outer atmosphere of the Sun known as the crown.
Parker will travel at a rapid speed of almost 690,000 kilometers per hour, allowing it to cover the distance between Washington, D.C. and Tokyo in less than a minute.
Nick Pinkine, the mission operations manager at Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory, stated that no human-made object has ever ventured so near to a star, allowing Parker to transmit data from uncharted territory.
Parker has assisted scientists in understanding how the solar wind is formed by investigating extreme conditions on the Sun.