Parker Solar Probe

Parker Solar Probe


The Parker Solar Probe is studying the Sun closer than any space probe before. The space probe will come as close as 6.16 million kilometers (3.83 million miles) from the Sun, seven times closer than any space probe in history, and face nearly 1400 degrees Celsius (2500 F) while keeping its insides at room temperature thanks to an 11.43-centimeter-thick (4.5-inch) carbon-composite shield. Studying the Sun so close will provide new insights on its activity, its outer atmosphere (known as the corona), and help humans forecast solar storms that could negatively effect Earth. The Parker Solar Probe will also be studying the solar wind which carries charged particles from the Sun’s atmosphere out across the solar system.


(top image: the launch of the Parker Solar Probe, NASA/Bill Ingalls)