The spacecraft will transmit a beacon tone on 27 December to confirm its health after effectively losing contact with mission control during its nearest point to the sun or perihelion.
Parker launched in 2018 and aims to gather key data on solar wind and the sun’s corona or upper atmosphere. A previous flyby of Venus, in November, helped prepare the spacecraft for its Christmas Eve approach.
“This is one example of NASA’s bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer longstanding questions about our universe,” said Arik Posner, Parker Solar Probe program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
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“We can’t wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks.”
Since its initial blast-off, Parker has been orbiting closer to the sun’s surface and Mercury than any spacecraft before it.
“Parker Solar Probe is designed to swoop within about 4 million miles (6.5 million kilometres) of the Sun’s surface to trace the flow of energy, to study the heating of the solar corona, and to explore what accelerates the solar wind,” said NASA.
“During its journey, the mission will provide answers to longstanding questions that have puzzled scientists for more than 60 years: Why is the corona much hotter than the Sun’s surface (the photosphere)? How does the solar wind accelerate? What are the sources of high-energy solar particles?
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“We live in the Sun’s atmosphere and this mission will help scientists better understand the Sun’s impact on Earth. Data from Parker will be key to understanding and, perhaps, forecasting space weather. Space weather can change the orbits of satellites, shorten their lifetimes, or interfere with onboard electronics.
“Parker can survive the Sun’s harsh conditions because cutting-edge thermal engineering advances protect the spacecraft during its dangerous journey.
“The probe has four instrument suites designed to study magnetic fields, plasma, and energetic particles, and image the solar wind.
“The mission is named for the late Dr. Eugene N. Parker, who pioneered our modern understanding of the Sun.
“As a young professor at the University of Chicago in the mid-1950s, Parker developed a mathematical theory that predicted the solar wind, the constant outflow of solar material from the Sun.
“Throughout his career, Parker revolutionised the field time and again, advancing ideas that addressed the fundamental questions about the workings of our Sun and stars throughout the universe.”
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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