NASA Parker Solar Probe survives plunge into sun

The NASA spacecraft reported later taking a dip in the sun.

The Parker Solar Probe transmitted a lighthouse toneindicating that it is operational and in good health, NASA confirmed just after midnight on Friday, December 27.

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The probe broke several records on Christmas Eve when it came within just 3.8 million kilometers (6.1 million miles) of the Sun’s surface, seven times closer than any other probe. Protected from extreme heat by a large heat shield, the probe also broke many records during its approach, including becoming the fastest human object.

The mission, however, is not done. On the night of December 26, NASA’s mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, received the probe’s beacon signal. Now, the probe is scheduled to send detailed telemetry data on its status on January 1.

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The probe is equipped with instruments that can measure and image the solar wind, so scientists hope it will pass through one of the Sun’s coronal mass ejections (CMEs) so they can gather more data on how a CME accelerates particles. in space.

If all goes well, the Parker Solar Probe should pass similarly close to the Sun twice more, in March and June 2025.