New Delhi: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is expected to make its record flyby of the Sun — just 6.1 million km — on Christmas Eve.
Launched in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe aims to explore the mysteries of the Sun. This will be the first of its three final and closest approaches to the Sun’s surface.
“The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft is in good health and operating normally,” NASA stated after the mission operators at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland, received a beacon transmission from Parker, through NASA’s Deep Space Network complex in Canberra, Australia.
“Parker is now on course to fly just 3.8 million miles (around 6.1 million kilometers) from the surface of the Sun Tuesday, Dec. 24, at 6:53 a.m. EST (5:23 pm IST),” the mission officials said.
“No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star,” said Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe mission operations manager at APL.
“Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory,” Pinkine added.
During closest approach or perihelion, the spacecraft will not be in contact with mission operations. Parker will transmit another beacon tone December 27, to confirm its health following the close flyby.
Parker has to date completed 21 close approaches to the Sun. The 21st close approach to the Sun was made September 30.
The spacecraft also zoomed past Venus seven times to use its gravity to aim toward a record-setting series of flights around the Sun.
On November 6, Parker completed its seventh and final Venus gravity-assist manoeuvre, passing within 387 kilometers of Venus’ surface.
The flyby adjusted Parker’s trajectory into the final orbital configuration of its primary mission.
