NASA probe attempts historic Christmas Eve approach to the sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made a historic attempt to circle the sun at 6:53 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, which, if successful, would be the closest-ever attempt to do so.

The agency will remain out of contact with the spacecraft until Friday, when the device is scheduled to send a beacon tone to scientists on Earth confirming its survival.

Parker was projected to fly more than seven times closer to the sun than any spacecraft, within about 3.9 million miles of the sun, crossing the paths of Venus and Mercury. 

The spacecraft, built with a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield weighing approximately 1,500 pounds, is set to complete 24 orbits around the sun over the next seven years. Those interested in tracking the probe can follow the journey for years at NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System. 

“No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory,” said Nick Pinkine, Parker Solar Probe mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. 

“We’re excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the sun,” he added.

The probe broke barriers flying through the sun’s upper atmosphere in December 2021 marking the first time a spacecraft touched the sun.

As the device flies closer into the star’s orbit sustaining up to 2,500 degrees of heat, NASA’s goal is to learn more about the sun's impact on earth, which may help forecast the weather in space

The mission is named after the late Dr. Eugene N. Parker, a former professor at the University of Chicago.