Parker Solar Probe

The Parker Solar Probe (PSP; previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus or Solar Probe+) is a <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> <a href="/facts/Space_probe/AeWRBITP">space probe</a> launched in 2018 to make observations of the <a href="/facts/Stellar_corona/W4WNqV9u">Sun's outer corona</a>.
It used repeated <a href="/facts/Gravity_assist/4sqIByot">gravity assists</a> from Venus to develop an eccentric orbit, approaching within 9.86 <a href="/facts/Solar_radius/5t1Xavju">solar radii</a> (6.9 million km or 4.3 million miles) from the center of the Sun. At its closest approach in 2024, its speed relative to the Sun was 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph) or 191 km/s (118.7 mi/s), which is 0.064% the <a href="/facts/Speed_of_light/sKSQwdNx">speed of light</a>. It is the fastest object ever built on <a href="/facts/Earth/HLLmDfj0">Earth</a>.
The project was announced in the fiscal 2009 budget year. <a href="/facts/Johns_Hopkins_University/56US0mHw">Johns Hopkins University</a> <a href="/facts/Applied_Physics_Laboratory/PN4H87V9">Applied Physics Laboratory</a> designed and built the spacecraft, which was launched on 12 August 2018. It became the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person, honoring physicist <a href="/facts/Eugene_Parker/WxoeHcVp">Eugene Newman Parker</a>, <a href="/facts/Professor_emeritus/3hyP5zYf">professor emeritus</a> at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Chicago/z6zRMUmV">University of Chicago</a>.
On 29 October 2018, at about 18:04 UTC, the spacecraft became the closest ever artificial object to the Sun. The previous record, 42.73 million kilometers (26.55 million miles) from the Sun's surface, was set by the <a href="/facts/Helios_(spacecraft)/YLITe6r1">Helios 2</a> spacecraft in April 1976. At its <a href="/facts/Perihelion/VaL6ow9w">perihelion</a> on 27 September 2023, the PSP's closest approach was 7.26 million kilometers (4.51 million miles), reaching this distance again on 29 March 2024. 
On 24 December 2024 at 11:53 UTC, PSP made its closest approach to the Sun, coming to a distance of 6.1 million km (3.8 million miles) from the surface. Its beacon signal was received on 26 December, showing that it had survived the passage through the corona. Detailed telemetry was received 1 January 2025.
In 2025, the teams from NASA, Johns Hopkins, and partners were awarded the 2024 <a href="/facts/Collier_Trophy/qprIInz7">Collier Trophy</a> for their achievements.

Parker Solar Probe open-in-new

Parker Solar Probe