NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Becomes Closest Human Made Object to Sun in History

Parker Solar Probe, shown in this animation, became the closest-ever spacecraft to the Sun on Oct. 29, 2018, when it passed within 26.55 million miles (43 million km) of the Sun’s surface. Credit:  NASA/JHUAPL

Ken Kremer  --   SpaceUpClose.com  --   30 October 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – In a truly groundbreaking feat, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the closest human-made object to the Sun in history on Monday, when it plunged passed the current record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun's surface on Oct. 29, 2018, at about 1:04 p.m. EDT.

”Parker Solar Probe now holds the record for closest approach to the Sun by a human-made object,” NASA announced in a statement released Oct 29.

Parker smashed through the existing 42 years old record set by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft back in April 1976 - and will continue setting astounding new records over the course of its seven year mission as it dives ever closer.

Indeed the first solar perihelion encounter (the point closest to the Sun)  period begins on Halloween, Oct 31, followed by closest solar approach on Nov. 5 at about 10:28 p.m. EST.

Eventually she will swing by the sun within a final close approach of 3.83 million miles in 2024 while soaring by at a record-breaking speed of nearly 500,000 MPH.

“It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history,” said Project Manager Andy Driesman, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. 

“It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on Oct. 31.”  

At about the same time Parker plunged to the record-breaking solar distance in history, it also broke the speed record for a human-man object.

“Parker Solar Probe is also expected to break the record for fastest spacecraft traveling relative to the Sun on Oct. 29 at about 10:54 p.m. EDT. The current record for heliocentric speed is 153,454 miles per hour, set by Helios 2 in April 1976.”

Illustration of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the Sun.  Credits: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

To accomplish this unprecedented task Parker will encounter and must survive brutal heat and radiation conditions.

The mission was only enabled by the development of a state-of-the-art heat shield to protect the spacecraft. The sun facing side will reach temperatures of 2500 degrees F, while the other side facing the spacecraft and all its systems and science instruments will experience temperatures of only about 85 degrees F.

Why travel so close to the sun?

Parker will provide “humanity with unprecedentedly close-up observations of a star and helping us understand phenomena that have puzzled scientists for decades.”

“These observations will add key knowledge to NASA’s efforts to understand the Sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds.”

The mission will conduct 7 Venus flyby’s to set up 24 perihelion close encounters with the sun through 2024. The Venus flyby’s will precisely set its trajectory toward the Sun and slow the probe down instead of speeding it up.

The probe recently snapped a glorious view looking back home to all humanity as it continues diving towards its first close encounter with the Sun.

The view from Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument on Sept. 25, 2018, shows Earth, the bright sphere near the middle of the right-hand panel. The elongated mark toward the bottom of the panel is a lens reflection from the WISPR instrument.
Credits: NASA/Naval Research Laboratory/Parker Solar Probe

The magnificent view of the ‘Earth from Space’ – seen below - was snapped from a distance of 27 million miles (43 million km) from her Home Planet as the spacecraft was speeding to its first flyby of the Planet Venus setting up the trajectory for the 1^st close flyby of the Sun.

A close-up of Earth from WISPR's Sept. 25, 2018, image shows what appears to be a bulge on our planet’s right side — this is the Moon.  Credits: NASA/Naval Research Laboratory/Parker Solar Probe

“On Sept. 25, 2018, Parker Solar Probe captured a view of Earth as it sped toward the first Venus gravity assist of the mission,” NASA announced in a statement.

The $1 Billion mission began with a dazzling middle-of-the-night blastoff of the mighty Delta IV Heavy rocket in the wee hours of the morning, Aug. 12 – and delivered the car sized spacecraft to its intended trajectory towards Venus and the Sun.

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA's Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun and dive into the corona, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, at 3:31 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. From camera at pad. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

The 23-story tall triple barreled United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket successfully launched at 3:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 12 from the Florida Space Coast and put on a brilliant display of fire power with 2.1 million pounds of thrust spewing forth from the trio of liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen RS-68A main engines that quickly turned night into day a few hours before the natural sunrise under nearly cloud-free skies. 

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com

Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area.

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Parker Solar Probe Mission Trajectory Map on Oct. 29, 2018. Credit: NASA/JHU