NASA's parker solar probe will make a historic attempt to orbit the sun at 6:53 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, making it the closest attempt in history if successful.
The agency plans to lose contact with the spacecraft until Friday, when the spacecraft will send beacon sounds to scientists on Earth to confirm its survival.
Parker was predicted to fly within about 3.9 million miles of the Sun, more than seven times closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft, and cross the orbits of Venus and Mercury.
The spacecraft is built with a carbon composite shield that is 4.5 inches thick and weighs about 1,500 pounds, and is scheduled to orbit the sun 24 times over the next seven years. Those interested in tracking the spacecraft can follow its journey over the years at NASA. eyes on the solar system.
“Parker is truly uncharted territory, as no man-made object has ever come this close to a star,” said Nick Pinkin, Parker Solar Exploration mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “We will be returning data from.”
“We look forward to hearing back from the spacecraft as it circles around the sun and returns,” he added.
The spacecraft broke through the barrier flying through the sun's upper atmosphere in December 2021, marking the first time a spacecraft has touched the sun.
As the device approaches the star's orbit, enduring heat of up to 2,500 degrees Celsius, NASA's goal is to learn more about the sun's impact on Earth and potentially help predict space weather.
The mission is named after the late Dr. Eugene N. Parker, a former professor at the University of Chicago.
