NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is about to make its closest pass by the Sun on December 24.
As per SciTechDaily, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which is working well and is in good condition.
The Parker Solar Probe is a major mission within NASA’s Living With a Star Program, which aims to study the Sun and its effect on Earth.
The aircraft will fly extremely close to the Sun, at a distance of 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers).
During the closest approach, known as perihelion, the spacecraft will be out of contact with mission operators.
It will then send a signal on December 27 to confirm that it is functioning well after the flyby.
This data will offer new knowledge and discoveries about solar activity and phenomena.
Arik Posner, Parker Solar Probe program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington said in a statement, noting, “This is one example of NASA’s bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer longstanding questions about our universe.”
He added, “We can’t wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks.”
Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe mission operations manager at APL said, “No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory.”
He further added, “We’re excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the Sun.”
