This NASA mission is preparing to get closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft in history

The Parker Solar Probe will mark a milestone in solar exploration by coming closer to the Sun than any spacecraft before (Europa Press)

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is preparing to make a historic approach to the Sun scheduled for December 24, 2024, traveling at a record speed of 195 kilometers per second. In an unprecedented event, the probe will approach the large star at a distance of just 6.1 million kilometers, which represents the fastest-moving artificial object that would be closest to the Sun.

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“We’re almost landing on a star,” Dr. Nour Raouafi, Parker project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, said in an interview with the BBC.

This mission, launched in 2018, aims to further study solar processes and improve space weather predictions. During its closest approach to the Sun, known as perihelion, Parker Solar Probe will face extreme temperatures of around 1,400°C at the front of the spacecraft.

The Parker solar probe will endure extremely hostile conditions during its approach to the Sun (Sebastian Carrasco/Europa Press)

The probe’s strategy involves a short period of data collection within the solar environment protected by a robust heat shield. Science hopes to make significant progress in understanding the solar corona and the mechanisms underlying its heating, as well as accelerate the flow of charged particles.

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“This takes on a new dimension, especially now that we are thinking about sending women and men to the Moon and even establishing a permanent presence on the lunar surface,” said Dr. Raouafi, even comparing the importance of this mission to the Moon landing of 1969. and highlighting its monumental significance for humanity.

Furthermore, the implications of this research are critical for the protection of communications on Earth and the safety of astronauts, especially in future lunar mission plans. Next year will represent the culmination of the Parker mission; It will not be able to get closer to the Sun after December, in part because its trajectory will no longer allow the use of Venus to adjust its course.

With the Parker Solar Probe mission, NASA seeks to anticipate and mitigate the effects of solar storms on technology and security on Earth (Sebastian Carrasco/Europa Press)

Dr. Nicky Fox, NASA’s chief scientist and former Parker Project lead scientist, pointed out that the December 24 flyby will allow for an extended stay in the solar corona, longer than achieved on past missions. “We don’t know what we’ll find, but we’ll look for waves in the solar wind associated with warming,” he said. “I suspect we will perceive many different types of waves that would indicate a mixture of processes that people have been arguing about for years,” he said.

The Parker Solar Probe, developed by NASA, represents an unprecedented mission in the history of space exploration, whose main objective is to study the Sun up close. Launched on August 12, 2018, this spacecraft was designed to get closer to the solar corona than any spacecraft before, in order to collect valuable data on solar activity and the mechanisms that drive the solar wind and solar energetic particles.

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Equipped with a variety of scientific instruments, the Parker Solar Probe examines magnetic fields, plasma and energetic particles, and images the solar wind. The spacecraft uses a carbon composite heat shield that protects it from the Sun’s extreme temperatures and radiation, allowing it to operate even when it is just 6.16 million kilometers from the sun’s surface.

Crucial data on solar storms will be collected to safeguard Earth’s technologies and astronauts (Bill Ingalls/NASA/REUTERS)

The information collected by this probe helps scientists better understand phenomena such as solar storms, which can have direct effects on the functioning of satellites, communications systems and electrical grids on Earth. Furthermore, the data obtained contributes to the study of space weather and provides a clearer view of how the Sun influences the space environment of the solar system.

This mission, named after astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who proposed the existence of the solar wind in 1958, came closer to the Sun more times than initially expected, extending its duration and increasing the opportunity to study solar mysteries in great detail. The Parker Solar Probe is expected to make several orbits around the Sun, getting closer with each step and sending back valuable data that will transform our understanding of the Sun.

2024-01-02 21:36:00
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