NASA’s solar probe makes its ninth approach to the sun to solve some of its mysteries



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The Parker solar probe flew close to the sun for the ninth time during its current mission to explore our star and learn the secrets of how it works. The Parker solar probe was closest to the sun on its last flight when the spacecraft space was approximately 10.4 million kilometers (6.5 million miles) from the surface of the sun.

According to the “RT” website, at this time, the probe was traveling at speeds of over 532,000 km / h, and the spacecraft focused on understanding the mechanism by which the sun’s atmosphere becomes very hot. , thousands of degrees warmer than the surface of the sun, and the origins of the solar wind. , which is a continuous flow of charged particles flowing through the solar system.

As the spacecraft approaches the sun, scientists will likely be able to solve these mysteries. “We are entering the critical phase of the Parker mission and we are focusing on a few points during this confrontation,” said Nour Al-Rawafi, Parker Solar Probe scientist at the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, in a NASA press release.

“We expect the spacecraft to fly over the region of accelerating the permanent flux of charged particles that make up the solar wind. Solar activity is also increasing, which holds promise for studying solar wind structures at large. scale, such as mass ejections and associated energetic particles, ”Al-Rawafi added.

In addition, during the flight, the spacecraft was compared to its current records, which are also the records of humanity in general, for the closest approach to the sun and the fastest moving object of spaceship. However, Parker Solar Probe will resume the record streak soon.

In October, the mission will fly over Venus for the fifth time, using the planet’s gravity to adjust its trajectory in space and sneak closer to the sun.

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