Nasa scientists and fellow space watchers face a tantalising wait over the Christmas period while the Parker probe continues its unprecedented circuit around the outer rim of the sun.
The craft, which blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 12 August 2018, sent out a beacon on 22 December to say it was en route to its date with destiny some 6.2 million kilometres from the surface of the sun.
Parker has swept past the star on 21 occasions, edging nearer to pave the way for the closest approach – known as perihelion.
Mission teams on Earth, who have been out of contact with the probe for the past three days, must wait for another beacon on Friday to confirm whether the spacecraft has successfully completed its moment in the sun.
“This is one example of Nasa’s bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before, to answer longstanding questions about our universe,” said Arik Posner, the Parker solar probe programme scientist.
“We can’t wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks.”
Although the heat shield on the probe will endure temperatures of about 870 to 930 degrees Celsius, its internal instruments will remain near room temperature – 29 degrees C – as it explores the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona.
Not only will the temperatures be extreme, but Parker will also be moving at around 690,000 kilometres per hour – the fastest any craft has travelled.
“We’re excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the sun.”
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