NASA's Energy Probe is getting extremely close to the Sun
In its historic mission to explore the fiery star, the Parker spacecraft is ready to approach the Sun's 1,300-degree Celsius temperature region.
The Parker Solar Probe is said to be on a groundbreaking mission to "touch the Sun".
The journey marks the closest encounter with the Sun of any man-made object in human history. It begins its approach to the Sun and will not communicate with Earth for several days.
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| The Parker spacecraft is on its way to carry out a special mission for humanity. |
During the encounter, all four instruments on Parker will collect data from the Sun's atmosphere, or "coronal hole." Any data collected will be sent back to Earth within a few weeks.
It is expected that in 2024, the Parker spacecraft will enter the zone where it cannot go any further and burn up under the extremely high temperature of this fiery star.
Researchers are hoping the £1.2 billion mission will give NASA a close-up look at how the Sun lives.
"Parker Spacecraft will provide unprecedented information about our Sun, where changing conditions can spread out into the solar system to affect Earth and other worlds. It will track how energy and heat move through the Sun's atmosphere and explore what accelerates solar winds and energetic particles," NASA explains.
The Parker spacecraft, successfully launched by NASA on August 12, 2018, will reach a speed equivalent to 692,000 km/hour when it approaches the Sun.
NASA said the unmanned spacecraft will reach a speed of 692,000 km/h, or about 201 km/s, on December 24, 2024.
