Parker Solar Probe Gears Up for Closest Approach to the Sun in History
With leadership from University of Michigan researchers, the NASA Parker Solar Probe gears up to make history with its closest approach to the Sun.
Putting another triumph and spectacle in sight for NASA and University of Michigan researchers, the Parker Solar Probe is slated to make its closest approach to the Sun on December 24, 2024.
At that time, with its orbit shaped by the mission’s Venus flyby on November 6 for a gravity assist, the spacecraft will travel within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface — where it will be inside the Sun’s upper atmosphere, moving about 430,000 miles per hour.
As the probe takes NASA closer to the Sun than ever before, the historic news is making headlines around the world.
>> SPACE.COM: “‘We are preparing to make history’: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe gears up for epic sun flyby on Christmas Eve”
According to a NASA blog, the Parker Solar Probe completed its last closest approach to the Sun on September 30, equaling its own distance record by coming within about 4.51 million miles of the solar surface. The close approach (known as perihelion) occurred at 12:15 a.m. EDT with Parker Solar Probe moving 394,700 miles per hour around the Sun. The spacecraft checked in on October 3 with mission operators at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory with a beacon tone indicating it was in good health and all systems were operating normally. Now, the Parker Solar Probe is entering the first of its three final, closest approaches of the primary mission on December 24.
The Parker Solar Probe mission is led by Principal Investigator Justin Kasper, Ph.D., a faculty member at U-M Climate and Space. The mission has already led to new research, helping scientists unravel the mysteries surrounding our star.
Read more about the Parker Solar Probe’s history from the University of Michigan:
https://news.umich.edu/touching-the-sun-to-protect-the-earth/