NASA Parker Solar Probe Delivers Home Detailed Updates After Making Closest-Ever Pass By The Sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe spacecraft was sent for a close swoop of the Sun on Christmas Eve, 2024. This event marks the first time for any human-made object to fly within 3.8 million miles of the Sun’s radius at an incredible speed of 430,000 mph.

Parker Solar Probe Sent A Signal To Earth

On Wednesday, 1st January, the mission control team at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland began receiving the first telemetry data from the Parker Solar Probe. These updates confirmed that the spacecraft’s systems were healthy and its scientific instruments were functioning as expected after its remarkable journey near the sun.

Additionally, the spacecraft gathered valuable data about the sun during its close approach. The probe will send its collected science data later this month when its most powerful onboard antenna aligns better with Earth, allowing for higher transmission rates.

“The data that will come down from the spacecraft will be fresh information about a place that we, as humanity, have never been. It’s an amazing accomplishment,” said Joe Westlake, the director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

A Record-Breaking Parker Solar Probe Sun Flyby

Updated on 26th December

On Tuesday, 25th December, NASA’s groundbreaking Parker Solar Probe achieved a historic milestone, venturing closer to the sun than any spacecraft before. During the record-breaking approach, its heat shield endured extreme temperatures exceeding 930°C (1,700°F).

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.”

The probe was out of contact during its closest approach. However, on December 27, NASA announced that the spacecraft had transmitted a beacon tone back to Earth, indicating that it was in good health and operating normally. Detailed data about its status will arrive on 1 January.

If the distance from Earth to the sun were scaled to the length of an American football field (109.7 meters), the Probe would have been just four meters from the end zone at its closest approach, known as perihelion.

The Christmas Eve flyby marks the first of three record-breaking close approaches to the Sun. The next two, scheduled for 22 March and 19 June 2025, are also expected to bring the Parker Solar Probe to a similarly close distance.

Why Is It So Important?

Speaking of this upcoming groundbreaking solar event, Nour Rawafi, project scientist for the mission said that this mission will “make history.” However, it’s easy for onlookers to ask the purpose of this coming NASA Parker Solar Probe flyby of the Sun.

Originally launched into space on 12 August 2018, the NASA Parker Solar Probe aims to help scientists better understand the Sun as a star.

In October 2024, “the Sun reached its most turbulent phase”, giving off solar flares on top of each other. This is the first time in the sun’s 11-year cycle that it has experienced such turbulence, so the flyby will give more insight into this occurrence.

The data gathered from the flyby will aid scientists to study the solar flares occurring around the Sun closely. Nour Rawafi adds that the NASA Parker Solar Probe is opening our eyes to a new reality about our star.”

Regarding the data to be collected, Rawafi adds that sorting the data will take decades. Decoding the data will help us better understand our closest star, the Sun.

A Christmas Eve Date with the Sun

Available details on this coming flyby of the Probe point out the date and time of the flyby. It also gives insight into the time frame for the first images from the spacecraft to get to Earth.

The flyby will take place on 24 December 2024 at approximately 6:40 a.m. EDT (11”40 GMT). However, from 21st-27th December 2024 scientists will be on the lookout for a beacon tone from the NASA Parker Solar Probe to confirm its health.

This will be because, during the flyby, mission control will not be able to contact the spacecraft. During the flyby, the spacecraft will take pictures and record data of the Sun.

The first batch of images taken during the flyby will be available for viewing “as soon as New Year” if all goes according to plan. Considering the fact that the NASA Parker Solar Probe might reach a temperature of over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius) during the flyby, it’s easy for things to go sideways.