NASA spacecraft 'safe' after closest-ever approach to Sun

28/12/2024 7:43

NASA said on Friday that its Parker Solar Probe was "safe" and operating normally after successfully completing the closest-ever approach to the Sun by any

human-made object.



The spacecraft passed 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the solar surface on Dec. 24, flying into the sun's outer atmosphere called the corona, on a mission to help scientists learn more about Earth's closest star.



The agency said the operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland received the signal, a beacon tone, from the probe just before midnight on Thursday.



The spacecraft is expected to send detailed telemetry data about its status on Jan. 1, NASA added.