New Delhi: The Parker Solar Probe successfully completed its 25th close approach to the Sun on 15 September. The spacecraft was launched in 2018 with the goal of diving into the solar atmosphere or corona, fortified by a carbon-composite and ceramic heat shield 11.43 cm in thickness to protect the sensitive instruments on board. The spacecraft was originally designed to execute 24 close flybys, but NASA scientists intend to extend the mission till the end of the decade if possible. The Parker Solar Probe approached within 6.2 million kilometres of the photosphere or visible surface of the Sun, and equalled its record-setting speed of 687,000 km per hour.
The distance and speed mark was set and then matched by close approaches on 24 December 2024, 22 March 2025 and 19 June 2025. The next close approach is planned for 30 October, 2025. The Parker Solar Probe was in a communications blackout during the close encounter. The energetic particles streaming out of the Sun make it challenging to maintain radio communications with the heliophysics observatory. The spacecraft was designed to operate autonomously during the close encounters. On 18 September, the probe pinged the ground teams, transmitting a beacon to indicate that the systems were functioning nominally.
Future plans for the Parker Solar Probe
The solar encounter began on 10 September and lasted till 20 September, where the four scientific instruments on board were gathering data. This science data will be relayed home from 23 September, allowing scientists to better understand and predict the severe space weather caused by our host star. Solar outbursts such as filament eruptions, solar flares and coronal mass ejections can adversely affect all the technologies that the modern human society relies so heavily on. The future of the mission beyond 2026 is currently being reviewed by NASA. If the mission is extended, then it is expected to continue diving into the Sun periodically, matching the distance and speed records, while capturing high-resolution observations.