NASA press release or scientific publications

NASA's Parker Solar Probe to Make Historic Closest Approach to Sun at 3.8 Million Miles on Christmas Eve

Dec 22, 2024, 05:30 PM

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is set to achieve a historic milestone on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024, by flying closer to the sun than any human-made object ever has. The spacecraft, on its 22nd orbit around the star, will approach within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the sun's surface, marking the first of its three final closest flybys. Launched in 2018, the probe has been designed to withstand extreme temperatures up to 1,371 degrees Celsius and will travel at a speed of 430,000 mph (690,000 kph) during its closest approach. The mission aims to study the sun's corona and solar wind, providing insights into why the corona is significantly hotter than the sun's surface and how solar activity impacts Earth. Communication with the probe will be lost during the flyby, with mission managers expecting to receive a health update on December 27.