Parker Solar Probe from NASA survives a close encounter with the sun’s intense heat

NEW YORK – NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has successfully made the closest approach to the sun, the space agency confirmed Friday.

The spacecraft recently came within a record-breaking 3.8 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the sun. NASA was reassured by Parker on Thursday night that it successfully completed the journey.

Launched in 2018 to study the sun up close, Parker has traveled through its outer atmosphere, called the corona. Having completed its close encounter, the spacecraft is expected to orbit the sun at this distance at least until September.

Parker, the fastest human-made spacecraft, reached a speed of 430,000 mph (690,000 kph) during its closest approach. It is equipped with a heat shield capable of enduring temperatures as high as 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius).

Scientists hope the data from Parker will help them better understand why the sun’s outer atmosphere is hundreds of times hotter than its surface and what drives the solar wind, the supersonic stream of charged particles constantly blasting away from the sun.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.