Parker Solar Probe

space exploration · the Sun · NASA · extreme science

Launched in 2018. The Parker Solar Probe blasted off from Earth to become one of NASA's most ambitious missions ever. It was named after Eugene Parker, a scientist who predicted the solar wind decades before we could prove it.

Gets incredibly hot. The probe flies through temperatures reaching 1,400 degrees Celsius (over 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit), but a special heat shield keeps the instruments inside cool and safe. It's like having a protective umbrella during a volcanic eruption in space.

Studying the corona. The Sun's outer corona is a mysterious region that's actually hotter than the Sun's surface, which seems backwards but is one of science's biggest puzzles. Parker Solar Probe is getting closer to the corona than any spacecraft before it to collect clues about why.

Discovering solar wind secrets. The probe measures the solar wind, a stream of charged particles flowing out from the Sun that affects Earth's magnetic field and can create beautiful auroras. Understanding the solar wind helps scientists predict dangerous solar storms that could damage power grids and satellites.

Fastest spacecraft ever. Parker Solar Probe zooms around the Sun at speeds over 586,800 kilometers per hour (364,660 miles per hour), making it the fastest object humans have ever built. It keeps breaking its own speed record every time it swings closer to the Sun.