Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe attempts closest ever approach to Sun

A NASA spacecraft is attempting to make history with the closest approach to the Sun.

The Parker Solar Probe is plunging into the outer atmosphere of our star, enduring intense heat and intense radiation.

It has not been in contact for several days during this hot flyby and scientists are awaiting a signal, expected at 05:00 GMT on December 28, to see if it survived.

The hope is that this research can help us better understand how the Sun works.

Dr Nicola Fox, Nasa’s chief scientist, told BBC News: “For hundreds of years, people have studied the Sun, but you don’t really see what it’s like until you go and visit it.

“And so we can’t see the atmosphere of our star unless we fly by.”

The Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018, heading toward the center of our solar system.

It has already swept the Sun 21 times, getting very close, but the Christmas visit is a record breaker.

On reaching the summit, this planet is about 3.8 million kilometers (6.2 million miles) from Earth.

This may not sound like much, but Nasa’s Nicola Fox explains: “We are 93 million kilometers from the Sun, so if I put the Sun and Earth one meter apart, the Parker Solar Probe is four centimeters from the Sun – that’s close .”

The probe must withstand temperatures of 1,400C and radiation that could disable the electronics on board.

It is protected by an 11.5cm (4.5 inch) thick shield but the ship’s approach is to get in and out quickly.

In fact, it will be traveling faster than any man-made object, hitting 430,000mph – the equivalent of flying from London to New York in less than 30 seconds.

Parker’s speed comes from the gravitational pull it feels as it falls toward the Sun.

So why are you going to all these efforts to “touch” the Sun?

Scientists hope that when the spacecraft passes through the atmosphere of our star – its crown – it will solve a long-standing mystery.

“The corona is very hot, and we don’t know why,” explains Dr Jenifer Millard, an astronomer at Fifth Star Labs in Wales.

“The surface of the Sun is about 6,000C or so, but the corona, this tough outer atmosphere that you can see after an eclipse, reaches millions of degrees – and it’s very far from the Sun. ?”

The work should also help scientists better understand the solar wind – the constant stream of particles that erupt from the corona.

When these particles interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, the sky lights up with bright auroras.

But so-called space weather can also cause problems, knocking out power grids, electronics and communication systems.

“Understanding the Sun, its functions, the atmosphere, the solar wind, is very important to our daily life on Earth,” says Dr Millard.

NASA scientists are experiencing anxiety over Christmas when the spacecraft failed to make contact with Earth.

Nicola Fox says that as soon as the sign appears at home, the team sends her a green text to let her know the survey is successful.

He admits that he is scared and trying to be brave, but he has faith in the research.

“I’m sorry about the ship. But we really built it to withstand all these harsh, harsh conditions.