Parker Solar Probe impresses with first data near the sun!

The Parker Solar Probe recently sent its first sign of life after coming very close to the sun. The US space agency NASA confirmed that the probe is in good condition and functioning normally. On December 24, 2024, the probe will fly deep into the sun's atmosphere and reach unexplored regions.

During its flyby, the Parker Solar Probe came within around six million kilometers of the sun's surface. A heat shield protected the probe and its instruments during the critical moment. The signal was received by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland. During the closest approach, the Earth had no contact with the probe.

First data and future missions

Initial data on the probe's measurements is expected in early January 2025, while scientific data is expected to be provided at the end of January. The researchers hope to gain insight into the temperature differences between the sun's surface and its outer atmosphere. In addition, understanding solar winds and solar storms are other important research goals.

The Parker Solar Probe is expected to continue on the same elliptical orbit and approach the Sun again on March 22 and June 19, 2025. The probe was launched in 2018 and is named after US astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who died in 2022 at the age of 94.

Technical details of the mission

The Parker Solar Probe is designed to study the sun and its surroundings. It uses seven flybys of Venus to get closer to the Sun and was launched by NASA on August 12, 2018. In April 2021, the sample became able to “touch” the Sun’s surface for the first time by diving into the Sun’s corona.

The last Venus flyby put Parker on a course for its closest approach to the Sun on December 24, 2024. During this approach, the probe will travel 7.26 million kilometers above the Sun's surface, reaching speeds of up to 700,000 kilometers per hour. This mission provides valuable data about solar winds as well as the complex magnetic fields near the Sun.