NASA's official status updates on the Parker Solar Probe mission

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Enters Sun's Corona at 6.1 Million km, Survives 2,500°C Temperatures

Dec 27, 2024, 08:15 AM

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has successfully completed the closest-ever approach to the Sun by any human-made object, passing within 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) of the solar surface on December 24. The spacecraft flew into the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona, enduring extreme temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees Celsius and reaching speeds of around 700,000 kilometers per hour. This marks the first time a human-made object has flown into the solar corona, achieving a distance ten times closer than Mercury. Launched in 2018, the probe aims to uncover the secrets of the Sun, and NASA confirmed that the spacecraft is safe and operating normally. Scientists eagerly await the unprecedented data it will transmit from this uncharted territory, beginning on January 1.