NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completed the closest-ever approach to the Sun by a human-made spacecraft, coming within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface.
Why it matters: NASA scientists received a signal from the probe late Thursday night after several days of silence while it conducted the flyby. The data collected during the historic approach will help scientists better understand the Sun.
The undertaking is a remarkable feat of science and engineering, given the extreme heat (up to 1,800 F) and radiation the probe endured as it passed through the Sun’s outer atmosphere.
While 3.8 million miles may not seem like a particularly close encounter, the Earth is 93 million miles from the Sun.
State of play: The approach took place on Dec. 24, and NASA’s missions operations team, based in Laurel, Maryland, received the signal just before midnight on Thursday, per a statement from NASA.
The probe was moving about 430,000 mph.
The aircraft is in good condition and operating normally.
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