Parker Solar Probe
The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft launched in 2018 that ventures closer to the Sun than any previous human-made object, using repeated gravity assists from Venus to adjust its orbit. It studies the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona, to understand energy flow and solar wind generation. The probe has a specially designed heat shield that can withstand temperatures of about 1,370 °C (2,500 °F), protecting its instruments. In December 2024, it reached its closest approach to the Sun, traveling at 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph), making it the fastest object ever built on Earth. The mission answers fundamental mysteries about solar physics that scientists have sought to solve for decades.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org: “The Parker Solar Probe (PSP; previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus or Solar Probe+) is a NASA space probe launched in 2018 to make observations of the Sun's outer corona.”
- en.wikipedia.org: “At its closest approach in 2024, its speed relative to the Sun was 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph) or 191 km/s (118.7 mi/s), which is 0.064% the speed of light. It is the fastest object ever built on Earth.”
- en.wikipedia.org: “The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to fly into the low solar corona. It will assess the structure and dynamics of the Sun's coronal plasma and magnetic field, the energy flow that heats the solar corona and impels the solar wind, and the mechanisms that accelerate energetic particles.”