NASA Parker Solar Probe Flies Closer to Sun than Any Spacecraft

Context: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has just made history by completing its closest pass to the Sun than any spacecraft ever before. On 24 December 2024, the Parker Solar probe made its closest approach to the Sun, coming to a distance of 6.1 million km (0.04 AU) from the surface.

About Parker Solar Probe

Parker Probe is part of NASA’s Living With a Star program.
Scientific Objectives of the Mission: Uncovering Solar Mysteries
- Corona’s Temperature: Investigating why the Sun’s corona is hotter (1–2 million °C) than its surface (~5,500 °C).
- Solar Wind Origins: Understanding how the continuous flow of charged particles forms and evolves.
- Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs): Studying the formation of plasma clouds that influence space weather.
The spacecraft has become the closest ever artificial object to the Sun. It has circled gradually closer to the sun, flying past Venus in order to use the planet’s gravity to move it into a tighter orbit.

Mission Timeline

Launched: August 12, 2018, aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket.
Duration: Seven years, with progressively closer orbits to the Sun.

Key Specifications

Speed: Up to 6,90,000 km/h (fast enough to travel from New Delhi to Chennai in about 10 seconds).
Heat Shield: A 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield protects its instruments from temperatures exceeding 1,377°C, keeping them at a stable 29°C. The solar shield is placed on the Sun-facing side of the spacecraft.
Cooling System: Circulates a gallon of water to absorb and radiate heat.