NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is trying to get as close as possible to the Sun

A NASA spacecraft is trying to make history by coming closest to the Sun.

Parker’s solar probe plunges into our star’s outer atmosphere, enduring brutal temperatures and extreme radiation.

It was out of touch for several days during this hot flyby, and scientists will await a signal expected on December 27 to see if it survived.

The hope is that the probe can help us better understand how the Sun works.

Dr Nicola Fox, NASA’s head of science, told BBC News: “People have studied the sun for centuries, but you don’t get a sense of the atmosphere of a place until you visit it.

“And that’s why we can’t feel the atmosphere of our star unless we fly through it.”

The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 and headed toward the center of our Solar System.

It has already flown past the Sun 21 times, coming ever closer, but the visit on Christmas Eve was a record.

At closest approach, the probe is 3.8 million miles (6.2 million km) from the surface of our star.

That might not sound like that close, but NASA’s Nicola Fox puts it into perspective: “We’re 93 million miles from the Sun, so if I put the Sun and Earth one meter apart, the Parker Solar Probe is four centimeters from The sun… so close.’

The probe will have to withstand temperatures of 1400C and radiation that can disable the on-board electronics.

It is protected by an 11.5 cm (4.5 in) thick carbon-composite shield, but the spacecraft’s tactic is to get in and out quickly.

In fact, it will travel faster than any man-made object, racing at 430,000 miles per hour – the equivalent of flying from London to New York in less than 30 seconds.

So why go to all this effort to “touch” the Sun?

Scientists hope that as the spacecraft passes through our star’s outer atmosphere – its corona – it will unravel a long-standing mystery.

“The corona is very, very hot, and we have no idea why,” explains Dr. Jennifer Millard, an astronomer at Fifth Star Labs.

“The surface temperature of the Sun is about 6,000C or so, but the corona, that thin outer atmosphere you see during solar eclipses, is millions of degrees – and that’s further away from the Sun. So how does this atmosphere get hotter?”

The mission should also help scientists better understand the solar wind, the constant stream of charged particles that escape from the corona.

When these particles interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, the sky is lit up with dazzling auroras.

But this so-called space weather can also cause problems, knocking out power grids, electronics and communications systems.

“Understanding the Sun, its activity, space weather, solar wind is very important to our daily life on Earth,” says Dr. Millard.

NASA scientists face an anxious wait for Christmas until the spacecraft is in communication with Earth.

Nicola Fox says that once the signal returns home, the team will send her a green heart to let her know the probe is OK.

She admits she is nervous about the audacious attempt, but has faith in the investigation.

“I’m going to worry about the spacecraft. But we really designed it to withstand all these harsh, harsh conditions. It’s a tough, tough little spacecraft.”