Parker Solar Probe Shatters Records in Closest Approach to the Sun

NASA's Parker Solar Probe safely completed the closest-ever approach to the Sun, advancing our understanding of solar phenomena. Passing 3.8 million miles close to the solar surface, it aims to uncover secrets of the solar wind and particle acceleration. Data will inform future scientific breakthroughs.

NASA announced on Friday that its Parker Solar Probe is safe and functioning normally after achieving the closest approach to the Sun ever conducted by a human-made object.

On December 24, the spacecraft came within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface, entering the corona—the Sun's outer atmosphere—on a mission aimed at expanding scientific understanding of Earth's nearest star. A signal indicating the probe's operational status was received by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's operations team on Thursday night.

NASA noted that the probe, traveling at speeds up to 430,000 mph and enduring temperatures as high as 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, is scheduled to transmit detailed telemetry data on January 1. This mission builds on theories dating back to the 1950s and seeks to explore how material in the sun's outer region is superheated, as well as the origins and mechanics of the solar wind.

(With inputs from agencies.)