Parker Solar Probe will be moving 394,742 miles per hour when it comes within just 4.5 million miles from the Suns surface area– breaking its own record for speed and solar range– on September 27, 2023.
Artists concept of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the sun. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft released in 2018 with the objective to study the Suns outer atmosphere, or corona. It intends to gather information on the dynamics of solar wind, the electromagnetic fields, and the energetic particles in the corona. By getting closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe is offering extraordinary insights into how the Sun affects the planetary system. Its observations add to our understanding of essential solar and space physics, which can have ramifications for space weather condition forecasting and the habits of other stars.
NASAs Parker Solar Probe performed a key 4.5-second maneuver on August 3, 2023, to remain on course for its sixth Venus flyby. This adjustment is vital for utilizing Venuss gravity to alter its orbit around the Sun, and it sets the stage for the probe to break its own speed and solar range records on September 27, 2023. Credit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Brian Monroe
NASAs Parker Solar Probe performed a short maneuver on August 3, 2023, that kept the spacecraft on track to reach the goal point for the missions 6th Venus flyby on Monday, August 21, 2023.
Operating on preprogrammed commands from mission control at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, Parker fired its small thrusters for 4.5 seconds. This was enough to change its trajectory by 77 miles and speed up its closest method to Venus by 1.4 seconds. The exact timing and position are vital for this flyby, the sixth of seven prepared approaches, where Parker will utilize Venuss gravity to tighten its orbit around the Sun.
” Parkers speed has to do with 8.7 miles per 2nd, so in terms of changing the spacecrafts speed and instructions, this trajectory correction maneuver may appear irrelevant,” said Yanping Guo, mission style and navigation manager at APL. “However, the maneuver is critical to get us the wanted gravity help at Venus, which will significantly change Parkers speed and range to the Sun.”
NASAs Parker Solar Probe carried out a crucial 4.5-second maneuver on August 3, 2023, to remain on course for its 6th Venus flyby. The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft introduced in 2018 with the objective to study the Suns external environment, or corona. By getting closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe is offering unprecedented insights into how the Sun affects the solar system.
