NASA’s Parker Probe ‘grazes’ the Sun and establishes itself as the fastest object in history – Teach Me About Science

We don’t know much about the stars of our solar system, and despite the current technology, there is still little to be said for interstellar exploration, however, the advances made by science have not been in vain.

Since 2018, the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationAlso known by its acronym NASA in English, the organization launched a mission in space to achieve one of the most difficult objectives proposed, sending a space probe to the Sun to collect information from it.

The Parker Solar Exploration, a mission planned with the sole objective of getting to know the Sun more closely, has been a complete success since its launch, breaking a series of records. The probe is specially designed to withstand the extreme temperatures of the Sun’s radiation in order to provide humans with information about our star.

This high-tech study is a constant talking point among the scientific community as it gives us information about how this star’s atmosphere and space weather works.

In recent days, on September 27, NASA announced that the Parker Solar Probe will break another record, as well as provide new and important information to the experts behind this technology.

This is the 17th dive into the solar atmosphere, breaking unprecedented records, as the probe officially becomes the closest man-made object to the Sun, approximately 7.26 million kilometers from its surface.

Likewise, it has also become the fastest man-made object in history, reaching a speed of approximately 635,266 km/h, an insane speed! We can only thank Venus for achieving that speed as the planet’s gravity was used to further accelerate this solar probe.

Undoubtedly, these achievements are impressive, and this probe, born of our species, was able to withstand a fraction of the power of the Sun. The wind informs us about the sun.

Even in early September, the Parker probe flew through a coronal mass ejection, also known by its acronym CME in English, and not only that, but it was one of the largest solar flares we’ve ever seen. years.

Thanks to this phenomenon, and the study is still in progress, it was possible to verify a theory that has troubled scientists for decades, because CMEs interact with stellar dust, but there is still much to analyze. In this regard, experts should already work.

Finally, after the monumental events, NASA has confirmed that the probe is in good shape to continue operating, and that this October 1st, the probe will transmit data about its position and dives to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Hopkins is located in Maryland, USA.

This achievement has set precedents for what humans can achieve, and it will only bring further scientific and technological advances that will take us farther in the knowledge we seek to discover.