What is the Parker Solar Probe?
The Parker Solar Probe is a spacecraft that NASA launched in 2018 to study the Sun. It will fly within 6.5 million km of the Sun's surface and orbit it 24 times. It has equipment to help scientists learn more about the Sun.
All the data it collects will also help us understand space weather. In December 2021, it even flew through the Sun's corona and measured things. No other spacecraft has ever done that before! It has already completed 16 of its 24 orbits.
How can the spacecraft survive the Sun’s heat?
The Parker Solar Probe has a super thick shield. It's like a strong armour protecting it from the Sun's extreme heat. There are other protective things on the spacecraft, too.
The solar panels, which use energy from the Sun to power the spacecraft, can overheat if not protected. The solar arrays retreat under the heat shield's shadow on each approach to the Sun, leaving only a small section exposed to Sun rays.
Around the edge of the shield's shadow, there are special sensors. They tell the computer if they detect sunlight. This causes the spacecraft to change its position to protect the sensors and the instruments. It also has a cooling system to keep everything nice and cool.
What did the spacecraft do recently?
In September 2022, the Parker Solar Probe passed through big coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This is a huge deal in science and engineering.
CMEs are massive clouds of plasma that explode from the Sun’s surface and travel in space. When they come in contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, they can damage our satellites and knock out our power grids.
Knowing how CMEs and interplanetary dust work together can help scientists figure out how quickly stuff from the Sun might reach Earth. This helps them predict when it might affect our planet.
What’s the difference between the Parker Solar Probe and Aditya-L1?
The Parker Solar Probe will observe the Sun from a much closer distance than the Aditya-L1. Also, both spacecraft have different equipment to study the Sun. However, both spacecraft will help scientists know more about the Sun. You can read more about Aditya-L1 in articles one and two.
