The Parker Solar Probe will approach the Sun at its closest distance ever.
NASA's automated spacecraft designed to study the Sun's outer corona, the Parker Solar Probe, will pass within 6.1 million kilometers of the Sun's surface on December 24, traveling at an astounding speed of 690,000 kilometers per hour. This will break its own speed records and bring it closer to our star than ever before.
2024-12-13 10:01:29https://naked-science.ru/community/1016049
The probe is expected to perform its feat at 14:40 Moscow time, but during that time, the flight control center will be out of contact with the spacecraft. Shortly before and after the closest approach to the Sun — on December 21 and 27 — scientists will be waiting for a beacon signal from the spacecraft to confirm its operational status. If everything goes according to plan, the first images captured by the Parker probe may be available shortly after the arrival of the New Year 2025, and scientific data will be transmitted to Earth in the following weeks.