[ad_1]
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has deployed key instruments in its historic journey to the sun.
The spacecraft took off from its odyssey to the star early in the morning of August 12, 2018. At 11:00 am EDT on Thursday, the spacecraft was 16.27 million kilometers from the Earth, traveling 45,860 miles an hour, according to NASA. The average distance between the sun and the earth is 93 million miles.
The $ 1.5 billion mission brings humanity closer to the sun than ever before. Parker will be the first spaceship to cross the Sun's crown, the outermost part of the star's atmosphere. It should arrive in the sun in November.
SOLAR SCIENCE WEIRD: HOW WILL NASA'S PARKER PROBE PITCH IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN?
To withstand a heat of nearly 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the probe is protected by a carbon composite screen 4.5 inches thick.
An artist concept of Parker Solar Probe in the space. The FIELDS antennas extend behind the heat shield and the Solar Probe Cup is visible on the right. (Credit: NASA / JHUAPL)
On Sunday, four two-meter (6.6-foot) electric field antennas were deployed on the spacecraft. "These antennas (as well as a fifth, which is mounted on the long boom at the other end of Parker Solar Probe) must be moved away from the spacecraft to accurately measure the electric fields of the crown, "says Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, who designed and built the probe.
As they are not protected by the thermal shield of the probe, the antennas are made of niobium C-103, a high-temperature alloy that can withstand intense heat, said the laboratory.
PARKER SOLAR PROBE: NASA SPACECRAFT IS NAMED AFTER A LIVING PERSON
Just after the antennas were deployed, the Solar Probe Analyzer (SPAN) instrument covers were opened. "SPAN instruments are used to measure the solar wind when it comes in at an angle to the spacecraft," the scientists said on the blog.
Voltages on the solar probe (SPC) that measures solar wind plasma have also increased. Pointed directly to the sun, the SPC is mounted outside the spacecraft's heat shield and is also made of C-103 niobium.
According to the Applied Physics Laboratory, the probe's high-gain antenna, which is used to send scientific data back to Earth at high speed, has been moved throughout its range of motion.
PARKER SOLAR PROBE FROM NASA: CAPE CANAVERAL PREPARES FOR SUN EPIC MISSION
Two energetic particle instruments were also lit and verified, as well as the spacecraft's Wide Field Probe (WISPR).
According to the space agency, Parker will face heat and "brutal" radiation during the epic journey that will take them 3.8 million kilometers from the Sun's surface. This is seven times closer than the previous spacecraft, Helios 2, which arrived 27 million kilometers from the Sun in 1976.
By exploiting the gravity of Venus, Parker will complete seven overflights over seven years to gradually bring his orbit from the Sun. At its closest approach in 2024, the spacecraft will travel at around 430,000 mph, setting a new speed record for a man-made object.
UNITED LAUNCH ALLIANCE PREPARES FOR THE RETURN OF CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE MISSIONS
On 31 August, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory flight inspectors completed a seven-minute and four-second jet firing to adjust the direction of the spacecraft before flying over Venus on 3 October.
Associated Press contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
[ad_2]
Source link
