On Christmas Eve, NASA’s Solar Probe ‘Touches the Sun’

Santa’s sleigh is powerful, but the space agency’s Parker spacecraft can withstand the sun’s blazing heat.

Tuesday, December 24, 2024 at 10:00 AM ET

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An artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Parker Solar Probe’s approach within 3.8 million miles of the sun on Christmas Eve. [Courtesy: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieved a new record on Christmas Eve by flying within 3.8 million miles of the sun, closer than any spacecraft in history.
The probe is specifically designed to "touch the sun," braving the solar corona with a robust heat shield to collect unprecedented data on solar wind and space weather, while also breaking its own speed record at 430,000 mph.
This was the first of three planned close approaches, with the mission anticipated to conclude in June, after which the collected data will significantly advance our understanding of the solar system.

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Santa’s sleigh is powerful enough to travel around the Earth in one night. But on Christmas Eve, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe flew around the sun.

At around 6:53 a.m. EST on Tuesday, the probe flew within 3.8 million miles of our solar system’s beacon—closer than any spacecraft in history. According to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Silver Spring, Maryland, which helped build the spacecraft, if the solar system were a football field and the sun were the end zone, Parker would be right at the 4-yard line

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.