The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft is preparing to approach the Sun closer than ever tomorrow, Christmas Eve, in order to study its atmosphere.

The unmanned spacecraft of the American space agency (NASA) started in August 2018 a seven-year mission, with the aim of revealing the secrets of the Sun – e.g. about solar storms impacting our telecommunications.

Tomorrow Tuesday, at 13:53 (Greece time), the Parker Solar Probe will pass within 6.2 million kilometers of the Sun’s surface, closer than any other probe in the past.

Researcher Arik Posner, who is part of the scientific team of the mission, does not hide that he is looking forward to receiving the first update from the spacecraft, in order to extract data and draw conclusions. It’s a “bold mission” by NASA, a historic “achievement” aimed at “answering long-standing questions” about the universe, he explains.

NASA staff will temporarily lose contact with the craft, waiting to receive a signal on Friday. On its approach to the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe will travel at a speed of 690,000 km/h – which would allow it to reach from Tokyo to Washington in less than a minute. Its heat shield is designed to withstand extreme temperatures of 870-930 degrees Celsius.

If all goes as originally planned, Parker Solar Probe will make two more approaches to the Sun to collect science data: on March 22 and June 19, 2025.