NASA sent its Parker Solar Probe just 3.8 million miles from the Sun's surface – and it survived. The probe sent a signal to Earth on the night of December 26, “indicating that it is in good health and operating normally.” according to nasa,
This mission marks the closest the Parker Solar Probe – or any manned object – has ever come to the Sun. The investigation set out on its mission 20th DecemberWith closest approach on December 24, when it flew past the solar surface at 430,000 mph. During this time, the mission operations were out of touch with the investigation.
Now that NASA has confirmation of the mission's success, it expects Parker Solar Probe to send back “detailed telemetry data on its position” on January 1. The closer flyby is believed to help scientists gain a better understanding of the solar wind, the Sun's heat, and “how energetic particles are accelerated to close to the speed of light”.
parker solar probe First launched by NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in 2018. It is designed to study why the corona – the atmosphere surrounding the Sun – gets so hot. To avoid these close encounters, Parker Solar Probe is equipped with a Sun-facing heat shield that reaches approximately 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, while the probe itself remains at only 85 degrees Fahrenheit.