NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which has been orbiting the sun since 2018, has completed its 19th close approach (called perihelion) to the sun on March 30, 2024, at 2:21 UTC (10:21 p.m. EDT on March 29), according to NASA.
During its 19th close approach, the spacecraft came at a distance of only 4.51 million miles (7.26 million kilometers) from the solar surface and was moving at a speed of 394,736 miles per hour (635,266 kilometers per hour) around the sun.
After its 19th close approach, NASA’s Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory located in Laurel, Maryland, which designed and manages the spacecraft, confirmed that Parker is in good health and all systems are operating normally on April 2, 2024.
Parker Solar Probe will make its next two close approaches (i.e., the 20th and 21st) on June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2024, respectively, according to NASA.
During its 20th and 21st close approaches, the spacecraft will swing around the sun from the same distance and at the same speed as the 19th close approach.
The spacecraft will make its first closest approach on December 24, 2024, during its 22nd orbit around the sun.
During its 22nd orbit around the sun, the spacecraft will come at a distance of only 3.8 million miles from the solar surface and will be moving about 430,000 miles per hour.
However, to make its first closest approach on December 24, 2024, the spacecraft will flyby Venus on November 6, 2024, and the gravity of Venus will help the spacecraft change its orbit as well as speed.
Parker Solar Probe will complete its primary seven-year mission in 2025, when it will complete its 24 orbits around the sun.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was launched on August 12, 2018, and it became the first spacecraft to fly through the sun’s upper atmosphere, known as the corona, in 2021.
The orbits of the spacecraft around the sun are designed in such a way that each orbit brings the spacecraft closer to the sun.
The spacecraft orbits the sun in a highly elliptical orbit. During its close approach, it comes well within the orbit of Mercury, and when it is farthest from the sun, it flies past Venus’s orbit.
Visit here to know the current position of the Parker Solar Probe.
Please bookmark Spaceandtelescope.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get latest space news, upcoming skywatching events and astronomy-related content.
