Parker Solar Probe signals NASA it is 'A-Okay' after first close pass
Craft is set to make 24 more close passes over the next 7 years
By Cal Jeffrey, Today 4:34 PM
What just happened? The Parker Solar Probe seems to be in good shape
after a close approach to the sun. The probe passed by our star at a
distance of just 15 million miles. That may seem like a long way, but
that puts it well inside the orbit of Mercury, which is about 35 million
miles from the sun.
This pass is the closest approach that any terrestrial craft has ever
attempted. The Helios 2 probe set the previous record by passing the
gaseous globe at a distance of 26.55 million miles in 1976.
Scientists at NASA know the probe is all right because it sent an
“all-systems-nominal” tone. The craft is designed to transmit four types
of signals. The other three beacons indicate something is wrong with
the probe or one of its systems.
“Parker Solar Probe was designed to take care of itself and its precious
payload during this close approach, with no control from us on Earth —
and now we know it succeeded,” said NASA’s Associate Administrator
Thomas Zurbuchen.
Being the closest is not the only record the PSP broke.
The craft has entered an elliptical orbit that will have it pass close
to the sun 24 times. At its first approach, the Parker Solar Probe
reached a speed of 213,200 miles per hour. That is the fastest that any
man-made craft has ever traveled. During its 24 trips around the sun,
the probe will continually break this record as its orbit decays, and it
passes closer and closer.
The PSP has a heat shield that it is programmed to keep oriented toward
the sun. During its perihelion (closest pass), the Thermal Protection
System registered a temperature of 820 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists
say that in subsequent passes the heat will continue to rise eventually
reaching 2,500+ degrees. Even at that high a temperature, the heat
shield is so efficient that the instruments onboard the craft will
remain a comfortable 84-86 F.
The Parker Solar Probe began gathering data for its first pass on
October 31 and will continue until November 11. It will take several
weeks before it starts to downlink its measurements to scientists on
Earth. This is because it needs to escape the sun's magnetic
interference to transmit the data.
Researchers hope to learn how energy and heat move through the sun’s
solar cornea and explore what accelerates both solar wind and solar
energetic particles — discoveries six-decades in the making.
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