06 June, 2017
And why does the atmosphere become so energized that it escapes the sun, turning into solar wind?
The mission, formerly known as Solar Probe Plus, is scheduled to launch during a 20 day window between 31 July 2018 and 19 August 2018. Targeting the sun's outermost atmosphere or "corona", it's expected to collect valuable data on solar wind and space weather that can affect life on Earth.
These instruments will be used during its trajectory, which will see it use seven Venus flybys over almost seven years to gradually shrink its orbit around the run, coming as close as 3.7 million miles to the sun. It's a mission that is 60 years in the making!
A 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield will protect the instruments inside the spacecraft from insane temperatures of around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. There will also be a small computer chip that will have photos of Parker and his paper, in which he explained his findings on the sun, affixed to the outside of the probe.
The solar probe will be the fastest manmade object ever flown, traveling at 430,000 miles per hour, or 118 miles per second.
"Until you actually go there and touch the sun, you really can't answer these questions", said Nicola Fox, the mission's lead scientist.
Next summer, NASA is attempting to fly straight into the sun's atmosphere for the first time.
Wednesday's announcement marked the first time NASA had named a craft after a living researcher.
The solar mission is a major one, marking the first time humans have sent a probe "close" to the sun in search of answers. NASA's missions are usually renamed after launch and certification, but because of Parker's accomplishments in the field and how closely aligned the solar mission is with area of study, it was chose to honor him even before the launch of the mission.
Researchers hope their findings will help us get better at forecasting potentially risky space weather. It is so hot that it heats up particles to such extreme temperatures that they break free of the Sun's gravity and accelerate outward in all directions.
"It was a fundamental insight that forever changed the way in which we understood the sun, the heliosphere and in general interplanetary space", said Eric Isaacs, executive vice president for research, innovation and national laboratories at the University of Chicago.
At that point, temperatures would be exceeding 1,377 degrees Celsius.
