Parker Solar Probe completes a record-setting swing by the sun
Blazing along at space-record speeds that would get it from Earth to the Moon in under an hour, NASA's Parker Solar Probe completed its 10th close approach to the sun on Nov. 21, coming within 5.3 million miles (8.5 million kilometers) of the solar surface.
The close approach (known as perihelion), also at a record distance, occurred at 4:25 a.m. EST (8:25 UTC), with Parker Solar Probe moving 364,660 miles per hour (586,864 kilometers per hour). The milestone also marked the midway point in the mission's 10th solar encounter, which began Nov. 16 and continues through Nov. 26.
The spacecraft entered the encounter in good health, with all systems operating normally. Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to check back in with mission operators at the Johns Hopkins Applied 萌妹社区ics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland鈥攚here it was also designed and built鈥攐n Nov 24.
The spacecraft will transmit science data from the encounter鈥攍argely covering the properties and structure of the solar wind as well as the dust environment near the sun鈥攂ack to Earth from Dec. 23-Jan. 9.
Provided by NASA
