A space probe will pass close to the Sun
The Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, is expected to come closest to the Sun by the end of 2024. At that point, it will be able to provide valuable information about the composition and behavior of the solar corona and solar winds.
This marks the first time that a terrestrial probe will venture so far into space. By the end of the year, the Parker probe will approach a little over 6 million kilometers from the Sun’s surface.
During this phase of its mission, the probe will be moving at a speed of approximately 200 kilometers per second (more than 700,000 km/h) around the Sun. It will be ideally positioned to gather unprecedented information about the solar corona through its numerous scientific instruments. These instruments will measure temperature, magnetic field, particle composition, and their movements in the solar corona.
The objective is to understand why the solar corona can be up to 300 times hotter than the surface of the Sun, with extreme temperatures reaching up to one million degrees Celsius. The mission also aims to comprehend the formation and acceleration of particles that constitute the solar wind. Ultimately, this could explain the entire behavior of the Sun and its impact on the entire solar system. These insights will help scientists understand how the solar wind is generated and how it evolves as it moves away from the Sun.
In 2025, Parker will attempt to come even closer to the Sun, where its mission will conclude. Both spectacular and crucial, the mission will have assisted scientists in enhancing their understanding of the Sun by studying all the phenomena surrounding it.
It’s worth noting that the European Space Agency (ESA) has recently sent its own probe to conduct observations in close proximity to the Sun. Clearly, there is much more to learn about the heart of our solar system.
