NASA’s Parker Solar Probe just made its Closest approach to the Sun to celebrate Christmas
NASA’s Parker solar probe made its closest-ever approach to the Sun on Christmas Eve (December 24, 2024). This is the closest any spacecraft has ever reached to the sun. During the history-breaking space flight, Parker’s space probe reached within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the sun.
At this close distance, it encountered the scorching heat of the Sun’s outer atmosphere known as the corona. Since the Parker solar probe was launched on August 12th, 2018, it has completed a couple of close flybys to the Sun.
Its recent flyby was the 22nd close passage to our star. NASA engineers planned the recent flyby to occur at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT). It is important to note that Parker solar probe is expected to conduct two more close flybys of the sun before its retirement.
However, today’s flyby remains the closest approach it has ever made to the Sun. NASA engineers have to lose contact with the spacecraft during this flyby. It will take them a couple of days to verify if the spacecraft survived today’s closest approach to the Sun.
In fact, the first proof that Parker survived the flyby will be announced by NASA on December 27. So, we will have to wait until then to learn about the outcome of this flyby. Astronomers suggest that the spacecraft would be traveling at 430,000 mph (692,000 kph) during its closest approach on Christmas Eve.
This great speed will surpass the spacecraft’s previous speed record set in 2023. Comparing this top speed to that of a Lockheed Martin jet fighter on our home planet, scientists realized that the Parker spacecraft will be traveling at about 300 times faster.
Why The Parker Solar Probe Is Special
On Sept. 21, 2023, the sun-touching space probe reached the speed of 394,736 miles per hour (635,266 kilometers per hour), making it the fastest object to ever fly. However, its Christmas Eve top speed of 430,000 mph (692,000 kph) will set the spacecraft into a new record of becoming the fastest object built by humans.
NASA engineers controlling the spacecraft were able to achieve this top speed based on the seven gravity assists from flybys made around Venus. The last flyby around the hottest planet in the solar system took place in November 2024.
NASA didn’t launch the Parker solar probe to break its top speed records. Instead, the space agency launched the space probe to obtain data from the solar corona of the Sun. Astronomers believe that the received data will help them to understand the strange mysteries concerning the sun’s outer atmosphere.
One of the mysteries scientists hope to resolve is how the corona remains hotter than the photosphere, which is the Sun’s surface. NASA plans to continue operating the Parker spacecraft and make another flyby on March 22nd, 2025, before conducting its final flyby on June 19th, 2025.
During these two remaining flybys, the spacecraft will move much closer to the sun than it did on Christmas Eve while flying at a close-range speed. We will continue to update you about these forthcoming flybys around the Sun.
