NASA's Parker Solar Probe survives; it's staggering speed can cover Japan to US in just under a minute 

UPDATED: Jan 4, 2025 00:34 IST

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has survived after making its closest-ever approach to the Sun, in a remarkable achievement for the exploration of our home star.

The spacecraft made history on December 24, 2024 when it flew within a record 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the Sun's scorching surface.

It also successfully transmitted data which confirmed that its systems and instruments were fully operational after the intense encounter.

Following the probe's daring flyby, NASA’s mission control at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) received the first telemetry on January 1, 2025, signalling that the spacecraft survived the perilous journey.

"All is looking good with the spacecraft systems and instrument operations. It really is a remarkable spacecraft!" said Michael Buckley, a spokesperson for APL.

The Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, steadily got closer to the Sun using a series of flybys of Venus.

The latest pass has brought the spacecraft nearer to the star than any human-made object before.

Traveling at a staggering speed of 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometers per hour), the probe is fast enough to go from Tokyo to Washington DC in just under a minute.

Notably, Parker surpassed its previous speed record while enduring extreme conditions in the solar corona, where temperatures soar above one million degrees Fahrenheit (555,000 degrees Celsius).

Thanks to its custom-designed heat shield, the probe withstood temperatures as high as 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius).

The shield, 4.5 inches thick and made of carbon foam, protected the spacecraft from the scorching heat, allowing its systems and scientific instruments to stay at room temperature. Without this crucial defense, the probe would have melted under the intense solar heat.

The spacecraft's ability to survive such extreme conditions while collecting valuable data about the Sun’s outer atmosphere is itself a significant scientific breakthrough.

"Parker Solar Probe is braving one of the most extreme environments in space and exceeding all expectations," said Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at APL.

"This mission is ushering a new golden era of space exploration, bringing us closer than ever to unlocking the Sun’s deepest and most enduring mysteries."

In addition to the successful telemetry confirmation, mission control also received the spacecraft’s data about the Sun's corona, a region that remains mysterious to scientists.

The Parker Solar Probe is expected to continue its mission with more flybys scheduled in 2025.