A NASA probe will pass as close as possible to the Sun on Tuesday

Launched in August 2018, the Parker probe must deepen scientific knowledge of our star in particular in order to unlock the secret of solar storms.

NASA's Parker probe is preparing to approach the Sun. Tuesday, December 24, it will pass closer to the star than it has ever done before. Launched in August 2018 for a seven-year mission, Parker must deepen scientific knowledge of our star in particular in order to unravel the secret of solar storms, which can have an impact on terrestrial communications. “It is the first mission to explore the solar atmosphere in situ”underlines the National Center for Space Studies (Cnes). On Tuesday, December 24, at 12:53 p.m. (Paris time), the probe will be 6.2 million kilometers from the surface of the star, a record proximity.

“This is an example of NASA’s bold missions, accomplishing something no one has ever done before to answer long-standing questions about our universe.”said Arik Posner, Parker Solar Probe program scientist. “We look forward to receiving the first ship update and starting to receive science data in the coming weeks.”he added. The mission team will lose direct contact with the probe during this approach, but they should receive a signal from the spacecraft on Friday.

During its approach, Parker will travel at a blistering speed of around 690,000 km/h, which would make it possible to reach Washington from Tokyo in less than a minute. The probe's heat shield will endure extreme temperatures of around 870 to 930°C, but its internal instruments will remain close to room temperature, at around 29°C, as it explores the outermost layer of the atmosphere of the Sun, called the crown. One of Parker's objectives, in venturing into these extreme conditions, is to understand why this area is curiously 200 times hotter than the surface of the star.