This is a historic first for NASA. The Parker probe survived its Christmas trip closer to the Sun. Never before has a man-made object managed to resist the intense heat of our star. The data collected should allow the space agency to learn more about solar storms.
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With our correspondent in New York, Loubna Anaki
To UNITED STATESscientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) heaved a sigh of relief, Friday December 27 in the morning. They lost contact with the Parker solar probe on December 20. The space agency announced that it had received a signal from the ship and assured that it was safe and functioning normally.
This is an achievement for NASA. The Parker probe’s mission was to dive into the corona, the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, just 6 million kilometers from the star’s surface. An extreme environment with temperatures exceeding 980 degrees Celsius.
NASA scientists should be able to receive detailed data from the probe on January 1, 2025. Information collected which should allow them to deepen their knowledge of the star closest to Earth and to understand, for example, why the atmosphere The outer surface of the Sun is 200 times hotter than the surface of the body.
The size of a small car, the space vehicle began its historic journey in 2018. The Parker probe has already circled the Sun 21 times. Its next two passes closest to the star should take place in March and June 2025.
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