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3 days ago
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A NASA probe is set to make history this Christmas Eve as it becomes the closest human-made object to the sun.
Tomorrow at 11:53 GMT, the Parker Solar Probe will pass within just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) of the sun's surface.
That is more than eight times closer than the distance between our home star and the nearest planet, Mercury.
As it reaches its closest point, the probe will also become the fastest human-made object ever made as it reaches a staggering 430,000 mph (692,000 kph).
In a moment that has been compared to the moon landing of 1969, Parker will 'touch' the sun's surface to gather vital data.
During that brief flyby, the probe will pass through the sun's super-hot outer atmosphere called the corona - the origin of solar storms which have the potential to cause chaos on Earth.
Although the Parker probe will endure temperatures exceeding 1,400 °C (2,550 °F) its near-indestructible heat shield should allow it to survive the extreme conditions.
Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), says: 'No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory.'
NASA's Parker Solar Probe (pictured) will make history on Christmas Eve as it becomes the closest human-made object to the sun
The Parker Solar Probe was launched from Cape Canaveral in August 2018 before embarking on the 93 million-mile (149 million km) journey to the sun.
The goal was to gather more data about the sun's corona by flying as close as possible through the stellar atmosphere.
Because the gravitation pull is so strong at this distance, the probe needs to be moving incredibly fast to avoid slipping into the heart of the sun.
To do this, the probe has been repeatedly 'slingshot' around the sun and Venus, getting progressively faster with each pass.
In 2021, Parker made its first successful pass of the solar corona, dipping into a region where temperatures can reach over one million degrees Centigrade for up to five hours.
Since then, Parker has completed 21 solar slingshots, but tomorrow the probe will smash its own record for both speed and distance.
After completing its seventh loop around Venus in November, Parker is now using that 'gravity assist' to fly seven times closer to the star than any other spacecraft.
Passing at a distance of just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km), Parker will gather particles from the corona inside a special instrument called the Solar Probe Cup.
The Parker probe will pass within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) of the sun's surface, moving at speeds of 30,000 mph (692,000 kph)
At the same time, Parker will surpass its previous speed record of 395,000 mph (635,000 kmph), according to NASA.
At its top speed, the probe will be moving 300 times faster than a Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet or 200 times faster than a rifle bullet.
Arik Posner, Parker Solar Probe program scientist for NASA, says: 'This is one example of NASA’s bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer longstanding questions about our universe.'
In order to avoid melting during that time, the Parker Solar Probe has been designed to withstand unbelievably high temperatures.
The body of the probe itself is protected by a 2.4-metre (8ft) wide heat shield made of a type of carbon foam.
Although this shield is just 11cm (4.5 inches) thick, its material composition makes it almost indestructible.
Johns Hopkins APL explained in a mission briefing: 'One yard behind that, where the body of the spacecraft resides, it is almost room temperature.
'And all its systems will need to work perfectly for Parker to gather data from this dynamic environment near a star where no spacecraft has dared travel.'
As it passes, the probe will collect particles from the Sun in the 'Solar Probe Cup' (pictured) which is made of Titanium-Zirconium-Molybdenum, a metal alloy with a melting point of 2,349 °C (4,260 °F)
How frequent are superflares?
Earlier estimates had suggested that superflares only occur between once every 1,000 to 10,000 years.
However, due to data limitations, these estimates only used a small set of stars which don't have nearby neighbours.
Across four years of data, a new paper found 2,889 superflares on 2,527 56,450 Earth-like stars.
That would mean a superflare occurs once every century.
Measurements of radioactive elements on Earth point towards a superflare every 1,500 years.
However, the researchers claim that Earth-based studies are not reliable since a superflare might not always leave a radioactive trace.
Meanwhile, the Solar Probe Cup is made of Titanium-Zirconium-Molybdenum, a metal alloy with a melting point of 2,349 °C (4,260 °F).
However, the probe's mission is about more than moving fast and withstanding high temperatures.
The data it brings back could make a huge difference in humanity's defences against devastating solar flares.
Thanks to the intense temperatures and powerful magnetic fields, scientists haven't been able to look inside the sun's corona.
However, this region is the origin of the plasma and magnetic fields which trigger solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
As the sun enters its solar maximum this year, scientists have warned that Earth is long overdue for an impact from a superflare which could cause widespread blackouts and damage to satellite networks.
By gathering data from this region, NASA says the Parker Solar Probe will help scientists make better predictions about space weather.
That could buy Earth valuable time to protect our most vulnerable systems in the event of a dangerous solar flare.
This data will help scientists understand what goes on within the sun's super-hot atmosphere. This could help us predict dangerous solar flares which have the potential to cause massive disruption on Earth (stock image)
Mr Posner says: 'We can’t wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks.'
Parker will transmit a beacon on Friday, December 27 to confirm it has survived the flyby with more data soon to follow.
The probe is then expected to make four more close flybys in 2025, but none so close as tomorrow.
And while the craft will eventually be torn apart by the sun's gravity, the heat shield could continue to orbit for thousands of years to come.
How will the Parker Solar Probe get so close to the sun?
The Parker Solar Probe mission required 55 times more energy than would be needed to reach Mars, according to NASA.
It launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy, one of the most powerful rockets in the world, with a third stage attached.
But, its trajectory and speed were critical in getting to the correct orbit.
As Earth, and everything on it, are traveling at about 67,000 miles per hour in a direction that’s sideways to the sun, craft was launched backward to cancel out the sideways motion, NASA explains.
The Parker probe passed the sun, so it needed to move about 53,000 miles per hour, according to the space agency.
This required a boost from the powerful Delta IV rocket, and several gravity assists from Venus to slow it down.
The probe will rely on a series of gravity assists from Venus to slow down its sideways motion, allowing it to get just 3.8 million miles away from the sun’s surface.
‘In this case, rather than speeding up the spacecraft, as in a typical gravity assist, Venus slows down its sideways motion so the spacecraft can get close to the sun,’ NASA explains.
‘When it finally does get close, Parker Solar Probe will have lost much of its sideways speed, but gained a great deal of overall speed thanks to the sun’s gravity.
‘Parker Solar Probe will hurtle past the sun at 430,000 miles per hour.’
At its closest approach, it will get just 3.8 million miles from the surface of the sun, making it the only spacecraft to ever venture so close.
