NASA Says Spacecraft Made Closest-Ever Pass to Sun
2025-01-13
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1NASA says a spacecraft that has been examining the sun's outermost atmosphere recently got closer to our Earth's star than any past explorer has.
2The American space agency announced its Parker Solar Probe passed within 6.1 million kilometers of the sun's outer corona on December 24.
3Mission leaders established communication with the spacecraft after the operation and said the orbiter was safe.
4NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe in August 2018.
5Its mission is to study the sun's powerful corona and solar wind.
6Solar wind is created by a continuous flow of charged particles, called plasma, into space from the corona.
7In 2021, NASA announced the orbiter had passed into the solar atmosphere for the first time.
8Researchers said at the time, the spacecraft had successfully "touched" the sun.
9Parker was believed to be about 13 million kilometers from the center of the sun when it crossed over into the sun's outer atmosphere.
10In a statement, NASA's Associate Administrator Nicky Fox praised the spacecraft's latest pass-by of the sun.
11"Flying this close to the sun is a historic moment in humanity's first mission to a star," she said.
12Fox leads the agency's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
13The Parker Solar Probe is believed to have traveled at speeds up to 692,000 kilometers per hour during the mission.
14NASA said this was "faster than any human-made object has ever moved."
15Fox said she hopes data collected by the spacecraft can help scientists better understand how the sun behaves and influences other elements in our solar system and beyond.
16"By studying the sun up-close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space."
17Fox added that such studies can provide valuable information "about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet."
18NASA's statement noted the agency's earlier preparation and operations were all leading up to the latest mission.
19To help it get into the right position, the Parker Solar Probe received assistance from several flybys of the planet Venus.
20The last flyby happened on November 6, 2024.
21These gravitational assists had put the spacecraft "an ideal distance" from the sun every three months, NASA explained.
22This distance was "close enough to study our sun's mysterious processes," but not "to become overwhelmed by the sun's heat and damaging radiation."
23Developers of the spacecraft say it was built with a shield made with carbon material to protect it from the extreme heat released by the sun's corona.
24The shield was designed to survive temperatures reaching 1,400 degrees Celsius.
25NASA says the data-gathering instruments are placed behind the shield.
26Nour Rawafi is the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at NASA's Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.
27His team designed, built, and operates the spacecraft.
28He said Parker had performed as planned although it operates in "one of the most extreme environments in space."
29Rawafi added that the mission had brought "a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the sun's deepest and most enduring mysteries."
30Dr. Joseph Westlake is director of NASA's Heliophysics Division, the part of the agency that studies the sun.
31Westlake noted that his team is preparing for more flybys in the future and hopes to capture more valuable data.
32Already, flybys of Venus have gathered information about the natural radio waves coming from Venus.
33In 2023, scientists announced they had learned new information about solar wind from data collected by Parker.
34Data showed that solar wind can reach speeds up to 1.6 million kilometers per hour.
35Solar wind forms a large magnetic barrier known as the heliosphere.
36It protects Earth and other planets from the continuous flow of high-energy particles from the sun's corona.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1NASA says a spacecraft that has been examining the sun's outermost atmosphere recently got closer to our Earth's star than any past explorer has. 2The American space agency announced its Parker Solar Probe passed within 6.1 million kilometers of the sun's outer corona on December 24. Mission leaders established communication with the spacecraft after the operation and said the orbiter was safe. 3NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe in August 2018. Its mission is to study the sun's powerful corona and solar wind. Solar wind is created by a continuous flow of charged particles, called plasma, into space from the corona. 4In 2021, NASA announced the orbiter had passed into the solar atmosphere for the first time. Researchers said at the time, the spacecraft had successfully "touched" the sun. Parker was believed to be about 13 million kilometers from the center of the sun when it crossed over into the sun's outer atmosphere. 5In a statement, NASA's Associate Administrator Nicky Fox praised the spacecraft's latest pass-by of the sun. "Flying this close to the sun is a historic moment in humanity's first mission to a star," she said. Fox leads the agency's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. 6The Parker Solar Probe is believed to have traveled at speeds up to 692,000 kilometers per hour during the mission. NASA said this was "faster than any human-made object has ever moved." 7Fox said she hopes data collected by the spacecraft can help scientists better understand how the sun behaves and influences other elements in our solar system and beyond. "By studying the sun up-close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space." 8Fox added that such studies can provide valuable information "about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet." 9NASA's statement noted the agency's earlier preparation and operations were all leading up to the latest mission. To help it get into the right position, the Parker Solar Probe received assistance from several flybys of the planet Venus. The last flyby happened on November 6, 2024. 10These gravitational assists had put the spacecraft "an ideal distance" from the sun every three months, NASA explained. This distance was "close enough to study our sun's mysterious processes," but not "to become overwhelmed by the sun's heat and damaging radiation." 11Developers of the spacecraft say it was built with a shield made with carbon material to protect it from the extreme heat released by the sun's corona. The shield was designed to survive temperatures reaching 1,400 degrees Celsius. NASA says the data-gathering instruments are placed behind the shield. 12Nour Rawafi is the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at NASA's Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. His team designed, built, and operates the spacecraft. He said Parker had performed as planned although it operates in "one of the most extreme environments in space." 13Rawafi added that the mission had brought "a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the sun's deepest and most enduring mysteries." 14Dr. Joseph Westlake is director of NASA's Heliophysics Division, the part of the agency that studies the sun. Westlake noted that his team is preparing for more flybys in the future and hopes to capture more valuable data. Already, flybys of Venus have gathered information about the natural radio waves coming from Venus. 15In 2023, scientists announced they had learned new information about solar wind from data collected by Parker. Data showed that solar wind can reach speeds up to 1.6 million kilometers per hour. Solar wind forms a large magnetic barrier known as the heliosphere. It protects Earth and other planets from the continuous flow of high-energy particles from the sun's corona. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and NASA. 18_______________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20corona - n. the outer atmosphere of a star, such as the sun 21impact - n. the effect that a person, event or situation has on someone or something 22habitable - adj. able to support life 23flyby -n. a term used by space agencies to describe when a spacecraft uses the gravity of a planet to increase its speed or change direction 24overwhelm - v. to produce an effect that is too strong or extreme 25shield - n. a large, flat object used for protection against dangerous or unpleasant things 26golden era - n. a period during which something or someone was particularly successful, good or special 27endure - v. to make it through a difficult time or situation 28heliophysics - n. relating to an area of space that is influenced by the sun or solar wind 29delve - v. to examine something in detail to find information