Nothing prevents them on their way. That is exactly what NASA’s Parker Solar Probe did. On its ninth approach to the Sun, it reached perihelion on August 9 and is only 10.4 million kilometers from the Sun’s surface. The probe, which approaches the sun, continues its journey.
Closer and closer
This distance corresponds to 14.97 solar radii. It corresponds to the record distance of your last approach. The other closest was on April 29th. At the same time, the probe also reached its record fly-by speed. It has to be 532,000 kilometers per hour.
An approach to the sun’s surface of 6.1 million kilometers is forecast, which will be reached in December 2024.
It was developed at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland. The Parker Solar Probe is functioning normally. Use four sets of instruments on board. The probe will continue to collect data on the solar environment. It will analyze the solar wind for this meeting by August 15th. The dates should arrive by August 18th.
“We are entering the critical phase of the Parker mission. We focused on a few things at this meeting. It is what it says it’s a statement Nour E. Raouafi. He is a scientist for APL’s Parker Solar Probe project. Solar activity also increases. It shows promise for the study of solar wind structures on a larger scale. For example, coronal mass ejections. But you never know what else you’ll be exploring so close to the sun, ”he added. And that’s always exciting.
Is hot
His main role is seven years. After three years, the probe approaching the sun remains in good condition. You will traverse a path that leads you directly through the sun’s outer atmosphere, the so-called corona. A thermal protection system protects the spacecraft. There are already temperatures of over 650 degrees Celsius.
But it gets worse later. It has to withstand temperatures of 1,370 degrees. And keep the spacecraft and instruments in its shadow at about 29 degrees.
