Parker Solar Probe

Parker Solar Probe
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) · Public domain · source
Name	Parker Solar Probe
Operator	National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Parker Solar Probe is a historic mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to study the Sun and its outer atmosphere, the corona. The mission is named after Eugene Parker, a renowned University of Chicago astrophysicist who first proposed the concept of the solar wind. The Parker Solar Probe was launched on August 12, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station using a Delta IV Heavy rocket provided by United Launch Alliance. The mission aims to explore the Sun's corona and the solar wind in unprecedented detail, with the help of scientists from Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Berkeley, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

● Introduction

The Parker Solar Probe mission is a significant milestone in the field of heliophysics, a discipline that studies the Sun and its impact on the solar system. The mission builds upon the discoveries made by previous NASA missions, such as the Helios 1 and Helios 2 spacecraft, which were launched in the 1970s to study the Sun's corona and the solar wind. The Parker Solar Probe is designed to fly closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, with the help of advanced heat shields developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. The mission is also supported by scientists from European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and University of Michigan.

● Spacecraft Design

The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft is designed to withstand the extreme temperatures and radiation of the Sun's corona, with the help of advanced materials developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The spacecraft is equipped with a heat shield made of carbon-carbon composite material, which is designed to protect the spacecraft's instruments from the intense heat of the Sun. The spacecraft also features a solar array system developed by Boeing and Ball Aerospace, which provides power to the spacecraft's instruments and communication systems. The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft is also equipped with a star tracker system developed by NASA's Ames Research Center and University of Colorado Boulder.

● Mission Objectives

The primary objective of the Parker Solar Probe mission is to study the Sun's corona and the solar wind in unprecedented detail, with the help of scientists from Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Texas at Austin. The mission aims to answer fundamental questions about the Sun's corona, such as why it is so much hotter than the Sun's surface, and how the solar wind is accelerated to high speeds. The mission also aims to study the magnetic field of the Sun and its impact on the solar system, with the help of scientists from University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of California, San Diego. The Parker Solar Probe mission is also supported by researchers from Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

● Launch and Orbit

The Parker Solar Probe was launched on August 12, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station using a Delta IV Heavy rocket provided by United Launch Alliance. The spacecraft was placed into a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun, with a perihelion of approximately 15 million miles (24 million kilometers). The spacecraft will make multiple flybys of the Sun over the course of its mission, with the help of gravity assists from Venus developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. The Parker Solar Probe mission is also supported by scientists from University of Arizona, University of Washington, and University of Colorado Boulder.

● Instruments and Experiments

The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft is equipped with a suite of instruments and experiments designed to study the Sun's corona and the solar wind. The spacecraft features a magnetometer developed by University of California, Los Angeles and University of Michigan, which measures the magnetic field of the Sun. The spacecraft also features a plasma instrument developed by University of California, Berkeley and University of Texas at Austin, which measures the properties of the solar wind. The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft is also equipped with an imager developed by NASA's Ames Research Center and University of Colorado Boulder, which captures high-resolution images of the Sun's corona. The mission is supported by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and University of Chicago.

● Mission Timeline and Discoveries

The Parker Solar Probe mission is scheduled to last for approximately seven years, with multiple flybys of the Sun over the course of its mission. The spacecraft has already made several significant discoveries, including the detection of magnetic reconnection events in the Sun's corona, with the help of scientists from University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of California, San Diego. The mission has also provided new insights into the solar wind and its impact on the solar system, with the help of researchers from Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Parker Solar Probe mission is a major milestone in the field of heliophysics, and its discoveries will have significant implications for our understanding of the Sun and its impact on the solar system, with the support of scientists from European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, and University of Michigan. Category:Astronomy