Mon Dec 30 08:18:55 UTC 2024: ## Parker Solar Probe Sets New Record: Closest-Ever Approach to the Sun
**Washington, D.C. – December 30, 2024** – NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has achieved a historic milestone, flying closer to the sun than any spacecraft in history. On December 24th, the probe reached a distance of approximately 6.1 million kilometers from the sun’s surface, enduring scorching temperatures exceeding 930 degrees Celsius.
Launched in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe is on a seven-year mission to unravel the sun’s mysteries. This record-breaking flyby, occurring at 5:23 am IST (11:53 GMT), took the probe into the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona. While mission scientists will not receive confirmation until December 28th due to communication disruption during the close approach, NASA officials have already declared the mission a resounding success.
The probe’s sophisticated heat shield kept its internal instruments near room temperature (around 29 degrees Celsius), allowing for data collection during its incredibly fast journey (approximately 690,000 km/hr). This data is crucial for addressing fundamental questions about the sun, including the origin of solar wind, the corona’s unexpectedly high temperature compared to the sun’s surface, and the formation of coronal mass ejections.
This close pass was the first of three planned record-breaking approaches. Two more are scheduled for March 22nd and June 19th, 2025, promising further groundbreaking scientific discoveries. The probe’s progressively closer orbits are achieved through gravitational assists from Venus. Scientists eagerly anticipate receiving and analyzing the data collected from this unprecedented mission, which promises to significantly advance our understanding of solar activity and its impact on Earth.
First Piper 