NASA is set to make history today (December 24) when its Parker Solar Probe lands closest to the sun’s surface than ever before.
The probe will travel 3.8 million miles above the sun’s molten surface, hopefully sampling the star’s atmosphere for the first time.
It will be seven times closer to the sun than any other craft in humanity’s history.
The spacecraft will fly by the sun’s ‘corona,’ which is around 1.8 million to 3.6 million degrees F (1 million to 2 million degrees C) and is visible from Earth as bright wisps during a total solar eclipse, you’d get a decent tan if you went near it.
Traveling at 435,000 mph, the probe is the fastest object ever made by humans.
It’s set to cover the distance between New York and London in just under 30 seconds, which sure does give the hypothetical Transatlantic Tunnel a run for its money.
The front of the spacecraft is expected to reach 2,552 F (1,400 C) and is only protected by a 4.5 inch carbon-composite shield.
It’s going to be an anxious wait for scientists to learn whether or not it’s survived the mission when it sends a signal back to Earth on December 27.
Yanping Guo, the mission designer and navigation manager, told Sky News: “We will be looking forward to that… It’s like a baby to me.
“But I’m pretty confident we will hear good news and get more data from the spacecraft.”
The Parker Probe first made history when it launched in 2018, becoming the first spacecraft to ‘touch’ the sun.
It’s been circling ever closer to its surface for the past six years and is set to make history when it reaches the corona on its 22nd orbit.
Crucial data on the star’s upper atmosphere solar wind has already been collected.
The historic flyby could help scientists gain an even deeper understanding of the sun’s solar wind.
Scientists at Imperial College London previously found sharp spikes in the sun’s magnetic field which helped to generate million-mile-an-hour solar wind.
These create the stunning aurora seen from our planet, but the dazzling display can be dangerous.
Professor Tim Horbury, who led the research, explained: “The radiation can damage astronauts, it can knock out satellites and even have effects on the ground, for example, on the power grid.
“By understanding how the solar wind is made and how it carries the magnetic field out into interplanetary space, we hope in the long run to be able to make better predictions about what’s going to arrive at the Earth.”
