 "Nasa's Parker probe to have closest sun flyby on Christmas Eve, know more")
Nasa's Parker Solar Probe is about to have its closest ever flyby of the Sun, and will come within 6.1 million kilometres of the surface of the star on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024.
The Parker Solar Probe will become the first human-made object to have come this close to the Sun, with the flyby scheduled to take place at 5.23 pm on December 24. This spacecraft will be seven times closer to our home star during the flyby than the last closest object.
Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) in Maryland, issued a statement where he said, "No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory."
"We're excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the sun," he added.
Spacecraft is working properly
Mission operators at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland reported that they had last established contact with the probe on December 21.
All the systems of the spacecraft are functioning normally. During the critical approach event on December 24, the spacecraft will be out of contact with Earth navigating the intense conditions near the Sun.
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The components of the spacecraft and science instruments are protected by heat shields. The heat shield is 8 feet wide and 4.5 inches thick, which is made of carbon foam, it is positioned on the sun-facing side of the spacecraft and it is designed to face the temperature which can go up to 2500 F (1,377 C).
In an overview, JHUAPL wrote, "One yard behind that, where the body of the spacecraft resides, it is almost room temperature."
"And all its systems will need to work perfectly for Parker to gather data from this dynamic environment near a star where no spacecraft has dared travel," he added.
Parker is likely to transmit a signal on December 27 confirming its health and operation status enduring the extreme environment of its closest approach.
Parker Solar to enhance understanding
The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to study the phenomena and increase our understanding of the Sun's outer atmosphere.
The spacecraft is travelling at a speed of around 6,92,000 kilometres per hour and it has completed numerous orbits around the sun. The thermal protection system is performing better than expected as it is withstanding extreme temperatures during the close encounters.
Scientists are eagerly waiting for the new data from the flyby as they are expecting some insights from the solar activity during a period called solar maximum. This is a period when the sun is most active.
This finding could have significant implications for understanding not only the sun but its effect on Earth and beyond.