Summary in seconds: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has set a record by flying closer to the Sun than ever before, passing just 3.8 million miles from its surface on December 24, 2024, while traveling at 430,000 mph—the fastest speed for any human-made object. The spacecraft collects data from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, to help scientists understand its extreme heat, solar wind, and energetic particles.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has made history by flying closer to the Sun than ever before. On December 24, 2024, the spacecraft passed just 3.8 million miles above the Sun’s surface, traveling at an incredible 430,000 miles per hour—making it the fastest human-made object ever. Late on December 26, NASA confirmed that the spacecraft completed the flyby safely and is working as expected.
This record-breaking journey is the first of several planned at this distance, allowing scientists to gather unique data that could transform our understanding of the Sun.
“Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s exploration of the stars,” said Nicky Fox, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its effects on Earth, our technology, and even other stars in the universe. This will help in our search for habitable planets beyond our solar system.”
Launched in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe has spent six years preparing for this moment. It used seven flybys of Venus to adjust its orbit and reach this unprecedented closeness. On November 6, 2024, the spacecraft completed its final Venus flyby, positioning it for its current orbit. This elliptical orbit brings it close to the Sun every three months—near enough to study the Sun but far enough to avoid being destroyed by its heat and radiation.
The spacecraft is protected by a carbon foam shield designed to endure temperatures of up to 2,600°F (hot enough to melt steel), while keeping its instruments at a comfortable room temperature. In the Sun’s corona—the outer layer of its atmosphere—the shield reaches around 1,800°F due to the lower density of particles.
On a cosmic scale, 3.8 million miles is extremely close. To visualize, if the Sun-Earth distance were the length of a football field, Parker Solar Probe would be just four yards from the Sun’s “end zone.”
“This is a monumental achievement,” said John Wirzburger, systems engineer for the mission. “The space science community has dreamed of getting this close since 1958 and worked for decades to develop the technology to make it happen.”
By entering the corona, Parker Solar Probe collects data to help scientists answer key questions:
- Why does the Sun’s corona become so much hotter than its surface?
- How does the solar wind, a stream of charged particles, form and accelerate?
- How are particles in the corona propelled to incredible speeds?
The spacecraft has already delivered groundbreaking insights. During its first dive into the corona in 2021, it discovered that the outer boundary of the corona is uneven, with spikes and valleys. It also traced the origins of zig-zag patterns in the solar wind, known as switchbacks, back to the Sun’s surface.
“The data we’re receiving is giving us an entirely new perspective,” said Kelly Korreck, a NASA scientist who worked on the mission. “Parker Solar Probe is changing how we understand the Sun.”
In addition to its solar discoveries, the probe has revealed surprising findings about the inner solar system. For instance, it showed how giant solar eruptions, called coronal mass ejections, clear away dust as they travel through space. It has also detected natural radio waves from Venus and captured the first full image of Venus’s orbital dust ring.
The spacecraft’s next close encounters with the Sun are planned for March 22, 2025, and June 19, 2025. Scientists are eagerly awaiting the data from this latest pass, which will give humanity a fresh glimpse into a part of space we have never explored.
“This is a huge accomplishment,” said Joe Westlake, director of NASA’s Helio-physics Division. “The data Parker Solar Probe collects will help us uncover the mysteries of the Sun and beyond.”
Source
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Makes History with Closest Pass to Sun
Johnson-Groh, Mara. “NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Breaks Records with Closest Flyby of the Sun.” NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, 27 Dec. 2024, https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-parker-solar-probe-makes-history-with-closest-pass-to-sun/.