The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft designed to study the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona, and its effects on space weather. Here are some key points about the mission:
Launch: The Parker Solar Probe was launched on August 12, 2018, aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Closest Approach: The spacecraft is on a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun, getting closer to it than any previous spacecraft. It will make multiple close approaches, gradually getting closer to the Sun with each pass. Its closest approach is planned to be within about 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometers) of the Sun's surface.
Purpose: The primary goal of the mission is to study the Sun's corona to understand its structure, behavior, and the mechanisms that drive its extreme temperatures and solar wind. By studying these phenomena, scientists hope to improve our understanding of space weather and its impacts on Earth and other planets.
Instruments: The Parker Solar Probe is equipped with a suite of scientific instruments designed to study various aspects of the Sun's corona. These instruments include cameras, spectrometers, and particle detectors to measure magnetic fields, plasma waves, and energetic particles.
Named after Eugene Parker: The mission is named after Dr. Eugene Parker, a pioneering solar astrophysicist who first proposed the existence of the solar wind in the 1950s. It is the first NASA mission to be named after a living person.
Mission duration: The mission is planned to last for seven years, during which time the Parker Solar Probe will make a total of 24 orbits around the Sun.
Discoveries: Since its launch, the Parker Solar Probe has already made significant discoveries about the Sun's corona, including evidence of nanoflares, and small but intense eruptions of energy in the solar atmosphere, which may help explain the corona's extreme temperatures.
Overall, the Parker Solar Probe is providing invaluable data that will help scientists better understand the Sun and its impact on the solar system.
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