{"id":13922,"date":"2025-03-26T09:18:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T03:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=13922"},"modified":"2025-04-02T08:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T02:56:12","slug":"about-parker-solar-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/about-parker-solar-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Facts about Parker Solar Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Parker Solar Probe Latest News<\/h2>\n<p>Parker Solar Probe: Mission to \u2018Touch\u2019 the Sun<\/p>\n<h2>Why in the News?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>On <strong>March 22, 2025<\/strong>, NASA\u2019s <strong>Parker Solar Probe<\/strong> approached the <strong>Sun more closely<\/strong>, reaching <strong>6 million km<\/strong> from its surface.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>probe, launched in 2018<\/strong>, has set the record for being the <strong>closest spacecraft to the Sun<\/strong> and will continue making <strong>24 close approaches<\/strong> to study solar activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>About the Parker Solar Probe<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Launched by NASA<\/strong> on <strong>August 12, 2018<\/strong>, from <strong>Cape Canaveral, Florida<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Designed to <strong>study the Sun\u2019s corona, solar wind, and magnetic field<\/strong> to understand <strong>space weather and its effects on Earth<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Moves in a <strong>highly elliptical orbit<\/strong>, using <strong>Venus\u2019 gravity assist<\/strong> to spiral gradually closer to the <strong>Sun<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Speed<\/strong>: The fastest human-made object, reaching <strong>692,000 km\/hr<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Closest approach<\/strong>: It will come as close as <strong>3.83 million miles (6.16 million km)<\/strong> from the <strong>Sun\u2019s surface<\/strong>, about <strong>7 times closer than any previous spacecraft<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Key Features of Parker Solar Probe<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"table\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Feature<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Details<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Heat Shield<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>A <strong>4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite shield<\/strong>, capable of withstanding temperatures of <strong>1,377\u00b0C (2,500\u00b0F)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Scientific Instruments<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>FIELDS<\/strong>: Measures <strong>electric &amp; magnetic fields<\/strong> in the corona.<br \/>\n&#8211; <strong>ISoIS (Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun)<\/strong>: Observes <strong>energetic solar particles<\/strong> responsible for <strong>solar storms<\/strong>.<br \/>\n&#8211; <strong>SWEAP (Solar Wind Electrons, Alphas &amp; Protons)<\/strong>: Records <strong>solar wind properties<\/strong>.<br \/>\n&#8211; <strong>WISPR (Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe)<\/strong>: Captures <strong>high-resolution images of the corona<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Faraday Cup<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>An <strong>external instrument<\/strong> made of <strong>molybdenum alloy<\/strong> that directly measures <strong>solar wind ions &amp; electrons<\/strong> in extreme heat.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Mission Duration<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Designed to complete <strong>24 orbits around the Sun<\/strong>, with a mission extending into the <strong>2030s<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Scientific Breakthroughs from Parker Solar Probe<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Discovery of &#8220;Magnetic Switchbacks&#8221;<\/strong>: The probe found <strong>sudden reversals in the solar wind\u2019s magnetic field<\/strong>, which might help <strong>explain how the solar wind accelerates<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Detection of Dust-Free Zones<\/strong>: Contrary to earlier beliefs, the probe found <strong>dust-free pockets near the Sun<\/strong>, altering our understanding of <strong>solar system dust distribution<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>First \u2018Touch\u2019 of the Sun (2021)<\/strong>: In <strong>April 2021<\/strong>, the probe <strong>entered the Sun\u2019s corona<\/strong>, crossing the <strong>Alfv\u00e9n surface<\/strong>\u2014a boundary beyond which <strong>solar wind escapes into space<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Comparison: Parker Solar Probe vs. Aditya-L1 (India\u2019s Solar Mission)<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"table\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Feature<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Parker Solar Probe<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Aditya-L1 (ISRO)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Launched by<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>NASA (2018)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>ISRO (2023)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Mission type<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>In-situ study<\/strong> (flies into the corona)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Remote observation<\/strong> (placed at <strong>Lagrange Point L1<\/strong>)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Closest approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>6.1 million km from the Sun<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>1.5 million km from Earth<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Main objective<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Study <strong>coronal heating, solar wind, and magnetic fields<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Study <strong>solar flares, CMEs, and magnetic storms<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Scientific payloads<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>4 major instruments<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p><strong>7 instruments including coronagraph<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Parker Solar Probe FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1. <\/strong>What is the Parker Solar Probe?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft launched in 2018 to study the Sun&#8217;s outer atmosphere (corona) and solar wind. It is the closest spacecraft to the Sun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>Why is the Parker Solar Probe significant?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> It helps scientists understand solar activity, space weather, and its impact on Earth, satellites, and astronauts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>What is the mission objective of the Parker Solar Probe?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> The mission aims to study the Sun&#8217;s corona, solar wind acceleration, and magnetic fields to improve space weather predictions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>How close will the Parker Solar Probe go to the Sun?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> The probe will travel within 6.16 million km of the Sun&#8217;s surface, enduring extreme temperatures up to 1,377\u00b0C.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>How does the Parker Solar Probe survive extreme heat?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> It has a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite heat shield that protects it from the Sun\u2019s intense heat and radiation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/science\/why-is-nasa-parker-solar-probe-trying-to-touch-sun\/article69371673.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA spacecraft launched in 2018 to study the Sun&#8217;s outer atmosphere (corona) and solar wind. It is the closest spacecraft to the Sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}