NASA has added another feather to its cap. A spacecraft launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has achieved a milestone that was once thought impossible. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has created history by becoming the first spacecraft to have “touched the Sun”.
The Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The spacecraft sampled magnetic fields and particles in the Sun’s upper atmosphere, known as the Corona, American Space Agency reported.
Spacecraft to investigate the mysteries of the Sun
The spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018. It was brought up to investigate the mysteries of the Sun. So far, the spacecraft has completed nine full orbits of the Sun. It will complete another 15 orbits before its primary mission ends in 2025.
The probe is expected to spiral closer to the Sun in January, eventually reaching a distance of 3.83 million miles from the surface.
Accomplished the feat earlier this year
Scientists claimed that the Parker Solar Probe accomplished the feat earlier this year on April 28, but they made the announcement only after data analysis confirmed it.
Scientists will be able to discover more about the sun and how it affects our solar system as a result of this accomplishment.
Remarkable feat for Science
In a statement, Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate stated that the “Parker Solar Probe ‘touching the Sun’ is a monumental moment for solar science and a truly remarkable feat”.
The unique magnetic zig-zag structure
The probe discovered the magnetic zig-zag structures in the solar wind in one of its flyby. The zig-zag structure called as switchbacks are extremely close to the Sun. The Scientists were able to identify that the switchbacks originate at the solar surface, once the probe moved closer to the sun’s surface.
