NASA’s Parker mission poised for solar ‘landing’ in 2024

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, is set to redefine space exploration history as it inches closer to skimming the outer atmosphere of the sun, known as the corona, from a record-breaking distance of just over 6 million kilometres.

One of the most audacious missions in the history of space exploration, the Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to have flown through the sun’s outer atmosphere, known to scientists as the Corona. It is set to break new ground in late December 2024 by covering 96% of the distance separating Earth from the sun.

“This will be a monumental achievement for all humanity. This is equivalent to the Moon landing of 1969,” said Parker project scientist Dr Nour Raouafi of Johns Hopkins University. “We are basically almost landing on a star.”

Since its launch in 2018, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has inched closer to the sun with each passing year, shedding light on key solar processes. By the end of 2024, it will have set a new record by grazing our star from a distance of just over 6 million kilometres, delving deep into its scorching outer layers.

This mission aims to deepen our understanding of the sun’s outer atmosphere, a region paradoxically hotter than the sun’s surface itself, with temperatures nearing 1,400 degrees Celsius.

Throughout its journey, the Parker Solar Probe has been gradually inching closer to the sun, shedding light on solar processes. As it prepares for its ‘solar landing‘, the probe will achieve unprecedented speeds of approximately 700,000 km/h, thanks to a gravity-assisted manoeuvre around Venus. This will elevate it to the status of the fastest human-made object in history.

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To withstand the extreme conditions in the corona, the Parker Solar Probe is equipped with a robust carbon composite heat shield. This shield safeguards its instruments, which are instrumental in measuring charged particles and magnetic fluctuations. These instruments have already made significant contributions to space research, having provided the first audio clips of the solar wind back in 2020.

The data gathered by the Parker Solar Probe will provide valuable insights into why the corona is significantly hotter than the sun’s surface. This could potentially enhance our abilities to predict solar flares and storms, which can have serious impacts on Earth.

The findings from this mission could pave the way for the establishment of a space weather service, a significant step forward in forecasting such celestial events.

The end-of-year voyage in 2024 will be Parker’s best opportunity for in-depth solar research, but it will also mark the end of its major missions, as its orbit will no longer allow close passes by Venus or the sun.