NASA set the goal sixty years ago, and the Parker Solar Probe accomplished it by becoming the first spacecraft to “touch the sun.” The probe was launched three years ago and it successfully flew through the sun’s corona or upper atmosphere. Its objective was to sample particles and our star’s magnetic fields.
Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said “Parker Solar probe ‘touching the Sun’ is a monumental moment for solar science and a truly remarkable feat,… Not only does this milestone provide us with deeper insights into our Sun’s evolution and its impacts on our solar system, but everything we learn about our own star also teaches us more about stars in the rest of the universe.”
The announcement was made at the 2021 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday. The research from the solar milestone has been published in the Physical Review Letters. The probe was named after astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who wants to answer fundamental questions about the sun.
For more information about the source click HERE