NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has become the fastest man-made object ever recorded — again.
On September 27, the spacecraft reached a speed of 394,736 mph/ (635,266 km/h) and on August 21 it passed close to the Sun’s surface with a little gravitational help from a close flyby of Venus. With this blistering approach to the Sun, the probe broke on its own Previous speed record 364,660 mph (586,863 kmh), set for November 2021. At the same time, the probe set a new distance record, coming just 4.51 million miles (7.26 million km) from the Sun’s surface — the closest any spacecraft has ever orbited before. According to NASA.
Venus flybys are an important part of the probe’s effort to study the sun’s scorching surface. As the probe zooms by Venus, the planet absorbs some of Parker’s orbital energy, allowing it to approach the Sun. There is one more flight plan for the study; It is predicted to get closer to the Sun in late 2024 3.83 million miles (6.16 million km) from the surface. The probe will reach even higher speeds on its final trip around the Sun, cementing its reputation as the fastest man-made object.
The Parker Solar Space Probe, launched in August 2018, is on a seven-year mission to understand the Sun’s corona, or the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere. Understanding how heat moves through the corona, How plasma and magnetic fields change on the Sun’s surfaceAccording to NASA, learning how to power phenomena like the solar wind will help scientists better predict space weather.
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