Additional Coverage:
NASA’s groundbreaking Parker Solar Probe is about to shatter another record. On December 24th, it will venture an astonishing 3.8 million miles from the Sun’s scorching surface, the closest any spacecraft has ever approached.
This daring maneuver marks the completion of the probe’s 22nd orbit around our star and the first of three planned close encounters before its mission ends.
The probe’s incredible speed of 430,000 miles per hour will allow it to gather unprecedented data from an uncharted region.
“Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory,” said Nick Pinkine, mission operations manager.
After the close encounter, the probe will resume communication on December 27th, providing valuable insights into the Sun’s behavior and unlocking new mysteries of our solar system.