Parker Solar Probe: Touching the Sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 to study the Sun up close.
It is the first spacecraft to “touch” the Sun by flying through its outer atmosphere, the corona.
The probe will complete 24 orbits, each bringing it closer to the Sun.
At closest approach, it travels at 430,000 mph—the fastest human-made object ever.
Its carbon-composite heat shield endures temperatures over 2,500°F (1,377°C).
Parker measures the Sun’s magnetic fields, solar wind, and energetic particles.
Its data helps scientists understand solar storms that can disrupt Earth’s power grids and satellites.
The probe honors astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who predicted the solar wind in 1958.
In 2021, Parker entered the solar corona for the first time in history.
Its mission will revolutionize our understanding of how the Sun works and affects the solar system.