Parker Solar Probe Sets Record for Closest Sun Pass

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An illustration showing the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft - a flat shield facing the Sun, with instruments and antennae on the other side, near the Sun, which has solar material ejecting off of it.
An artist's concept showing Parker Solar Probe.
Credits:

NASA/APL

Operations teams have confirmed NASA's mission to "touch" the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024.

Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA's Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour - faster than any human-made object has ever moved. A beacon tone received late on Dec. 26 confirmed the spacecraft had made it through the encounter safely and is operating normally.

This pass, the first of more to come at this distance, allows the spacecraft to conduct unrivaled scientific measurements with the potential to change our understanding of the Sun.

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