Parker Solar Probe to make record-breaking Sun flyby on Christmas Eve

The Parker Solar Probe, a mission by NASA, is ready to make its closest strategy to the Solar on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024. This milestone flyby is anticipated to happen at exactly 6:53 a.m. EST, as reported by a number of sources. The spacecraft will attain an unprecedented proximity of 6.1 million kilometers from the Solar’s floor, marking the twenty second shut encounter of its mission. This strategy represents a record-breaking second in house exploration, achieved by seven Venus flybys that incrementally introduced the probe nearer to the Solar.

Particulars of the Flyby

According to mission updates from NASA and the Johns Hopkins Utilized Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), the Parker Photo voltaic Probe will journey at a staggering pace of 692,000 kilometers per hour throughout its journey by the Solar’s outer atmosphere, or corona. This high-speed encounter goals to make clear the corona’s excessive temperatures and its function in photo voltaic wind era. The probe’s warmth protect, constructed to endure temperatures as much as 1,377 levels Celsius, will make sure the spacecraft stays operational because it navigates the extraordinary atmosphere.

Updates and Monitoring

Whereas the occasion itself is not going to be broadcast reside, updates shall be supplied by NASA’s official channels and the Parker Photo voltaic Probe mission weblog. A standing test from the spacecraft is anticipated on December 27, adopted by the primary telemetry information on January 1, 2025. The preliminary scientific findings, together with information on photo voltaic exercise, are anticipated by late January.

What Comes Subsequent

This flyby is a part of the probe’s seven-year mission, concluding in 2025 after a complete of 24 photo voltaic encounters. Subsequent flybys in March and June 2025 will proceed to collect helpful information, with selections in regards to the probe’s orbit to be made thereafter, as per the mission staff’s updates.