The Parker Solar Probe under construction.Photo: NASA
There are numerous mysteries that a mission like this one could solve. Perhaps most relevant to you is that the Sun releases blasts of high-energy particles that could be potentially catastrophic to our electric grid. Even Congress is worried about this. The probe will measure how the Sun generates these particles, which will hopefully help scientists forecast these events. It will also help scientists figure out why the Sun’s corona, the plasma surrounding the star, is so much hotter than the star itself.
The probe won’t fly through the million-degree-Fahrenheit corona—these are temperatures wholly inhospitable to our technology. But it will skirt the outermost regions.
And the probe may uncover solar phenomena that scientists haven’t even dreamed of yet. It’s the difference between looking at a star from close up versus far away—you’re sure to learn new things by getting closer. “The Grand Canyon looks cool from far away, but if you go up to the edge it looks like a completely different canyon,” said Garvin.
The mission comes with extreme challenges that the project engineers have done their best to prepare for. An 8-foot-wide, 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield protects the probe, keeping its instruments at a cozy 85 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NASA. The outside face of the shield is coated with white ceramic paint to further reflect heat away from the probe.
Scientists around the world are interested in the probe’s success. “It’s exciting because the science is obviously not just of national interest, but international interest,” Philippa Browning, professor of astrophysics at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in the United Kingdom, told Gizmodo. “It’s the first spacecraft from anywhere in the world to go that close to the Sun. People all around the world are interested in the science of how the Sun works.”
The Sun is a wild beast, with million-degree tendrils spewing harmful radiation into space. It provides energy to life on Earth, but also has incredible destructive potential. And NASA is going to march right up it.
The probe is going to “the place where the action happens,” said Garvin. “That’s a really specacular feat of engineering and science working together.”