Parker Solar Probe Successfully Completes Solar Approaches

(Reuters) – NASA announced on Friday that its Parker Solar Probe is operating normally after achieving the closest-ever approach to the Sun by any human-made object.

On December 24, the spacecraft flew just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the solar surface, entering the Sun's outer atmosphere known as the corona. This mission aims to enhance scientists' understanding of Earth's closest star.

The operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland received a signal from the probe just before midnight on Thursday, confirming its safe condition.

NASA anticipates detailed telemetry data regarding the probe's status on January 1.

Traveling at speeds of up to 430,000 mph (692,000 kph), the Parker Solar Probe experienced temperatures reaching 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius).

According to NASA, this close analysis of the Sun enables the Parker Solar Probe to measure how material in the corona is heated to millions of degrees, trace the solar wind's origins, and investigate how energetic particles are accelerated to nearly the speed of light.

Launched in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe has been gradually approaching the Sun through gravitational assists from Venus, tightening its orbit around the star.