Parker Probe Sets Record for Closest Ever Approach to the Sun

Image from NASA

A Solar Dive

NASA's Parker Solar Probe on Dec. 24, 2024 made its closest approach to the Sun, skimming within about 3.8 million miles (≈6.1 million km) of the Sun's surface.

Through searing heat, radiation, and plasma environment, the probe emerged healthy and collected vital information.

In this milestone, human technology was pushed closer to the Sun than ever before, breaking the record in solar exploration.

What This Contributes to Solar Science

By achieving that proximity, Parker probed the corona's density, magnetic fields, particle acceleration locations, and processes of heating in unprecedented detail and context.

The data sharpens models of how the solar wind is formed, how energy flows outward, and how particles get energized.

For future solar missions, the success proves thermal protection systems, sensors, and mission planning are able to withstand extreme conditions. December's achievement is a milestone in our attempt to examine the Sun up close.