The Parker Solar Probe, tasked with a mission to study the Sun’s outer corona, is not only breaking speed records but also providing invaluable insights into solar phenomena. In 2021, it became the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun’s corona, enduring extreme heat and radiation to deliver observations of the star that sustains life on Earth.
The Sun’s corona is the outermost layer of its atmosphere, extending millions of kilometres into space. It is extremely hot, with temperatures between 1-3 million degrees Celsius, much hotter than the Sun’s surface.
Orbiting closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe ventures well within Mercury’s orbit, gathering critical data on the solar wind’s origins and evolution. This mission is crucial for improving space weather forecasting, which has direct implications for life and technology on Earth.
The probe’s journey is planned to span seven years, during which it will complete 24 orbits around the Sun. At its closest approach, it will come within about 3.9 million miles (6.2 million km) of the Sun’s surface.
The probe is shielded against extreme conditions by a 4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite barrier capable of withstanding temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,377 Celsius).
Expected to reach even higher speeds, the probe is projected to travel at approximately 692,000 km (430,000 miles) per hour by 2025, during its closest solar approach.
This velocity is akin to travelling from Washington, D.C., to Tokyo in under a minute. The probe achieves such speeds by utilising Venus’s gravity as a slingshot during its solar orbits, as per NASA.
Since its launch, Parker Solar Probe has been collecting plasma samples and measuring magnetic field changes, contributing to a rich dataset that enhances our understanding of solar activity. Its most recent close approach brought it within 7.26 million km of the Sun’s surface, with future passes expected to narrow this distance even further.
Named in honor of Dr Eugene N. Parker, an astrophysicist whose insights transformed our understanding of the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe remains at the forefront of space exploration.
Parker’s theories on the solar wind in the 1950s laid the foundation for this mission, dedicated to unravelling key mysteries of solar and stellar phenomena.
Parker, who witnessed the spacecraft’s 2018 launch, died on March 15, 2022, at the age of 94.
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Shambhu Kumar is a science communicator, making complex scientific topics accessible to all. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
