The Parker solar probe has its first close encounter with the sun

This first perihelion has transported the spacecraft within 15 million kilometers of the sun's surface

NASA Solar Parker solar probe has taken a new step in its pioneering mission to "touch" the sun.

After breaking two world records last week – for the fastest speed and the closest approach to the sun – the intrepid spacecraft finally reached its first perihelion, making a spectacular pbad near the sun, reports Space .

According to NASA, this historic maneuver took place on the night of November 5 at 22:28 EST, and brought the solar probe back to within 15 million kilometers of the sun's surface.

"In the face of heat and radiation, our solar sensor Solar Sensor has reached its first approach to the sun," tweeted the space agency Monday. [19659003] During this first close encounter with our star, the probe reached a maximum speed of 213,200 miles to the sun compared to the sun, thus beating its own record of October 29th. At that time, the Parker solar probe was heading towards the sun. as indicated by Inquisitr .

Monday's close encounter with the sun is the first of a series of 24 tight orbits around our star. The mission's last perihelion is scheduled for 2025 and will carry Parker's solar probe just 3.8 million kilometers from the sun's surface, as the probe will move at incredible speeds of up to 430,000 kilometers per hour.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES! ???? ???? ???? Facing heat and brutal radiation, our #ParkerSolarProbe reached its first contact with the Sun nearly 15 million miles from the surface, around 22:28 ET. Read about our mission to "touch" the sun: https://t.co/mJ6Zwwgv9A pic.twitter.com/uGkeUeJMhY

– NASA (@NASA) November 6 2018 [19659010] This last step comes less than three months after the launch of Parker's solar probe during his seven-year trip to the sun. As Space points out, the spaceship flew solo throughout the maneuver. The probe has lost contact with mission control because of the enormous amounts of radio waves produced by the sun, which drown out the signals from the probe.

"For several days around the perihelion of November 5th, Parker Solar Probe will be completely out of the way. contact with the Earth because of interference from the Sun's radio emissions, "NASA explained in an update of the mission.

Although the spacecraft was unable to communicate with the Earth, it had no difficulty operating its advanced thermal shield on its own. tilt to make sure all his instruments stay in the shade of the heat shield. This allowed the probe to brave the burning temperatures of the solar material in which it was flying – which can reach up to 3.5 million degrees Fahrenheit, the space agency notes.

"Parker Solar Probe uses a multitude of autonomous systems to conserve the spacecraft. without danger from the Earth, "said NASA officials. "This autonomy is essential not only during the non-contact phases around the 24 planned periods, but also throughout the mission, when the round-trip light delay – the time it takes for the radio signals to circulate between Earth. and Parker Solar Probe – can up to 31 minutes. "

https://t.co/kZ1kSMk69B: NASA's Parker solar probe has just made its first tight pbad in the sun! .https: //t.co/9Ahxuh6FVi

– rblumel (@rblumel) November 7, 2018

Since the Parker solar probe remained secret throughout the perihelion, the spacecraft had to take measures independent of his first approach to the sun. The mission team expects to receive the first batch of data from the close encounter with the sun on Monday early December

. Once the solar probe has found its place in the area of ​​communication with Earth, it will communicate with the control of the mission at Johns Hopkins. University Laboratory of Applied Physics. The sensor is programmed to signal its status via a directory of four "beeps" and will beep to inform us of its progress.

The next two close encounters with the sun are scheduled for 2019 and will take place in April and September. In December 2019, the Parker solar probe will make its second flyby of Venus to adjust its course by means of a gravitational badistance maneuver and direct its trajectory a little closer to the sun.