This Tiny Probe Just Survived a Dance with Death at 430,000 MPH
NASA confirmed that Parker Solar Probe has completed its closest-ever approach to the Sun on Friday. The spacecraft maintained normal operations while passing within 3.8 million miles of the Sun's surface and entering its corona on December 24. The probe, launched in 2018, relies on Venus's gravity to gradually decrease its distance from the Sun. During this historic pass, it encountered temperatures reaching 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit while traveling at 430,000 miles per hour. The operations team at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland received a "beacon tone" signal just before midnight Thursday, confirming the probe's successful passage. Complete telemetry data from the encounter is expected by January 1. The mission aims to enhance scientific understanding of solar phenomena. By taking measurements in the Sun's outer atmosphere, researchers hope to explain how this region reaches millions of degrees, understand the […]