Solar make-or-break moment: NASA awaits news of parker spacecraft as it loses communication near the sun
The NASA probe is set to make another crucial approach towards our nearest star.
The NASA Parker Solar Probe has scientists on tenterhooks after making another record-breaking solar fly-by on the extraordinary journey it is currently undertaking around our nearest star.
The close encounter with the 27 million°F (15 million°C) star will be the 23rd time the feat of human engineering will make on what has been a stunning showing of technology and human advancement, with the probe whizzing around the nuclear reactor at 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometres per hour). This is faster than any human-made object has ever moved.
This particular fly-by is a tense time for the scientists at mission control as it matches the record-lowest distance from the surface of the Sun, just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometres).
‘This is a a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star'
For the flyby, Parker has been out of contact with its base on Earth, 93 million miles (149 million kilometers) away, and “operating autonomously during closest approach this weekend”, says NASA. It is scheduled to transmit data on its status to mission control on Tuesday, March 25.
On the December fly-by, Nicky Fox, leader of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said that it was “a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star. By studying the Sun up close, we can better understand its impacts throughout our solar system, including on the technology we use daily on Earth and in space, as well as learn about the workings of stars across the universe to aid in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”
Today, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will complete another close encounter with the Sun! 🚀☀️
— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) March 22, 2025
The close approach will equal its record-setting flyby on Dec. 24, 2024, in both speed and distance from the Sun.
More: https://t.co/u6MIDsgZXS pic.twitter.com/QXi2jiYFmE
First launched in 2018, the spacecraft has used seven flybys of Venus to gravitationally direct it ever closer to the Sun. The next planned close solar pass is set for June 19, 2025.
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