Parker Solar Probe
Mission
Parker Solar Probe is going to orbit within 6.5 million kilometres of the Sun’s surface. It will, therefore, have to cope with heat and radiation like no other satellite has ever seen and will be able to provide new information on solar activity and space-weather events that can have huge impacts on Earth.
The name of the probe was chosen in 2017 and is a tribute to Eugene Parker who, in the 1950s, proposed numerous ideas on how stars give off energy. He called these bursts of energy solar wind and described the complicated system of plasmas, magnetic fields, and energetic particles that make up this phenomenon.
Parker has three primary science goals:
-
To trace the energy flow that heats and accelerates the corona and solar wind.
-
To understand how plasma moves, how it is structured, and the magnetic fields that are the sources of the solar wind.
-
To research the mechanisms that allow high-energy molecules to be accelerated and transported.
Science Objectives
In September 2010, five more specific investigations were chosen for Parker Solar Probe by NASA:
-
Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons Investigation is aimed at counting the particles that are found at higher rates in the solar wind (electrons, protons, and helium ions) and measure their properties. It will also catch some particles in a container for direct analysis.
-
The Wide-field Imager, which is a telescope that can make 3D images of the Sun’s corona.
-
The Fields Experiment, which will be able to directly measure electric and magnetic fields, radio emissions, and shock waves through the plasma found in the corona. This also has a secondary goal, detecting space dust around the star.
-
The Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun consists of two instruments that will make an inventory of elements found in the Sun’s atmosphere thanks to a mass spectrometer.
Spacecraft
As it will come closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, Parker will need special instrumentation and protection. It will have an 11.5 centimetres thick carbon-composite shield to protect it from the extreme temperatures that reach nearly 1,377 degrees Celsius. The shield will keep the inside temperature at 30 degrees Celsius and it will weigh over 60 kilograms.
In order to reach its final orbit, Parker Solar Probe will take advantage of seven gravity assist flybys near Venus and it will gradually shrink its orbit around the star. The smallest distance it will reach will be 6.16 million kilometres to the Sun, which is within Mercury’s orbit and seven times closer than any spacecraft has ever reached before.
Journey to the Sun
Parker will rotate around the Sun about 24 times, and, at closest approach, it will orbit at approximately 690 thousand kilometres per hour! That’s fast enough to go from Naples to Rome in less than a second.