How Nasa will attempt to ‘touch the Sun’
Parker Solar Probe, which launches this week, will fly closer to the Sun that any man-made object in history
Nasa is set to launch a space exploration mission this week that will attempt to “touch the Sun” and could offer vital clues about how solar energy works.
The Parker Solar Probe, which is due to be launched from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, will fly closer to the Sun than any man-made object in history, beaming back invaluable new data on the star’s properties and atmospheric conditions over a seven-year period.
The project is named in honour of American physicist Eugene Parker who first speculated on the nature of solar winds in 1958, and the first time a Nasa mission has honoured a living person.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While Nasa scientists have intended to launch a solar mission for decades, cuts made to the space programme by successive presidents have hampered development, while “only recent technological advances in cooling systems and fault management have made it possible” says The Independent.
On its final close approach, in 2025, the Parker Solar Probe will get within 4 million miles of the Sun's surface — so close that it will actually fly through the star's incredibly hot atmosphere, called the corona, Nasa officials have said.
This will enable the probe to work on three main questions: why its atmosphere becomes hotter farther away from the surface of the Sun, how the solar wind of charged particles streaming out into space is born, and what causes the gigantic outbursts scientists call coronal mass ejections.
“The answers could be crucial to scientists' understanding of how stars beyond our solar system work” says Space.com, adding that “closer to home, the probe's work should also help scientists understand and predict the hazards of living near a star” including why solar activity can interfere with communications and navigation systems.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
A history of student protest at Columbia University
The Explainer Anti-Israel demonstrations at NYC's Ivy League university echo protests against Vietnam War and South African apartheid
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Trump is ruled in contempt'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Hainault sword attack: police hunt for motive
Speed Read Mental health is key line of inquiry, as detectives prepare to interview suspect
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
What is NASA working on?
In Depth A running list of the space agency's most exciting developments
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
14 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From photos of the infant universe to an energy advancement that could save the planet
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The hunt for Planet Nine
Under The Radar Researchers seeking the elusive Earth-like planet beyond Neptune are narrowing down their search
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Winchcombe meteorite: space rock may reveal how water came to Earth
The Explainer New analysis of its violent journey confirms scientific theories on the origin of our planet's H2O
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why the Moon is getting a new time zone
The Explainer The creation of 'coordinated lunar time' is part of Nasa's mission to establish a long-term presence on Earth's only natural satellite
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
We're in the golden age of space exploration
In depth To infinity and beyond!
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
All the major moon landings so far
The Explainer One giant leap for mankind
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hoped
speed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published