An unmanned spacecraft from Nasa starts a record approach to the sun around 8:53 am (Brasília time) this Tuesday (24). The American space agency predicts that the son solar parker reach 6.1 million kilometers from the surface of the Sun, a distance never conquered. The peak of proximity, however, should only occur at midnight on Friday (27).
To achieve the objective, . The agency claims that, if the feat is successful, the probe will become the fastest object created by humanity in history.
This will be the first of three approaches that still remain for the Parker probe to complete its mission, launched on August 12, 2018. The other two approaches to the Sun are scheduled to occur on March 22 and June 19, 2025.
This is one of the main moments idealized for the 2018 mission. Before, however, the probe has already achieved great successes, such as in December 2021, when it became successful by flying close to the solar corona, or upper atmosphere, to collect samples of the star’s particles and magnetic fields.
Over the past six years, the Parker solar probe has collected data to clarify for scientists some of the Sun’s greatest mysteries. The objective is to better understand the flow of energy around the star, study the heating of the solar corona and explore what accelerates the wind of the Sun.
To complete its mission, the probe was built with a carbon composite shield about 11.4 centimeters thick and 2.4 meters wide that can withstand temperatures reaching almost 1,400ºC. Scientists’ forecast is that the probe will face temperatures of up to 980ºC this Tuesday.
The spacecraft will come so close to the Sun that, if the distance between it and Earth were the length of an American football field, the spacecraft would be about 3.5 meters from the end zone (final line before the end of the field), according to NASA comparisons.
At this proximity, the probe will be able to fly in plasma plumes, as well as within a solar flare, should one be released by the Sun.
The moment it “touches the Sun” again, the Parker probe will not have contact with Earth, remaining disconnected until December 27th — the expected date for it to confirm that it has completed its operation and that the vehicle is intact.
The Parker spacecraft will continue to orbit the Sun until it completes two more laps around the sun and completes the mission. In total, from 2018 until the end of the mission in 2025, the spacecraft will complete 24 laps around the star.
*With information from CNN international and Giovana Christ, from CNN in São Paulo
