Ticker

6/recent/ticker-posts

Parker Solar Probe

Rajat Jhingan

Parker Solar Probe Mission

Parker Solar Probe (previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus, or Solar Probe+) is a planned NASA 
robotic spacecraft to probe the outer corona of the Sun. On May 31, 2017 the probe was renamed after solar astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who predicted the existence of the solar wind nearly 60 years ago. This was the first time a NASA spacecraft was named after a living person. The spacecraft will be launched in July 2018. 

Goals:

  •        To determine the structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields at the sources of solar wind;
  •       To trace the flow of energy that heats the corona and accelerates the solar wind;
  •       To determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles; and
  •       To explore dusty plasma near the Sun and its influence on solar wind and energetic particle formation.

The Journey

In order to unlock the mysteries of the Sun's atmosphere, Parker Solar Probe will use Venus’ gravity during seven flybys over nearly seven years to gradually bring its orbit closer to the Sun. The spacecraft will fly through the Sun’s atmosphere as close as 3.8 million miles to our star’s surface, well within the orbit of Mercury and more than seven times closer than any spacecraft has come before. (Earth’s average distance to the Sun is 93 million miles.)


Flying into the outermost part of the Sun's atmosphere, known as the corona, for the first time, Parker Solar Probe will employ a combination of in situ measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and expand our knowledge of the origin and evolution of the solar wind. It will also make critical contributions to our ability to forecast changes in Earth's space environment that affect life and technology on Earth.At closest approach, Parker Solar Probe hurtles around the Sun at approximately 430,000 mph (700,000 kph). At closest approach to the Sun, the front of Parker Solar Probe's solar shield faces temperatures approaching 2,500 F (1,377 C). The spacecraft's payload will be near room temperature.To perform these unprecedented investigations, the spacecraft and instruments will be protected from the Sun’s heat by a 4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite shield, which will need to withstand temperatures outside the spacecraft that reach nearly 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,377 degrees Celsius).
On the final three orbits, Parker Solar Probe flies to within 3.8 million miles of the Sun's surface – more than seven times closer than the current record-holder for a close solar pass, the Helios 2 spacecraft, which came within 27 million miles in 1976 and more than 10 times closer than Mercury, which is about 42 million miles from the Sun.

Why this Mission?

In order to unlock the mysteries of the corona, but also to protect a society that is increasingly dependent on technology from the threats of space weather, NASA will send Parker Solar Probe to touch the sun. We live in the sun's atmosphere! This mission will provide insight on a critical link in the Sun-Earth connection. Data will be key to understanding and, perhaps, forecasting space weather.
We need to go so close because:
·         The corona is unstable, producing the solar wind, flares and coronal mass ejections – we need to study at the source!
·         millions of tons of highly magnetized material can erupt from the sun at speeds of several million miles an hour
·         Scientists are trying to find the answers to these questions too:
    • Why is the solar corona so much hotter than the photosphere?
    • How is the solar wind accelerated?
         Launch Window: July 31 – Aug.  19, 2018
         Launch Site: NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida
         Launch Vehicle: Delta IV-Heavy with Upper Stage

Parker Solar Probe Provides:


  • Statistical survey of outer corona, 1st perihelion (0.16 AU 0r ~15 million miles) 3 months after launch; Closest approach below 10 Rs (0.04 AU or 4 million miles).
  • Excellent sampling of all types of solar wind.
  • Measurements from within the region where all the action happens.
  • Particle measurements from the lowest energy plasma through the most energetic particles associated with solar flares.
  • Measurements of plasma waves that enable energy &momentum flow

  • Coronal imaging "from the inside out" bridges local to global scales.

 Why do we study the Sun and the solar wind?

  • The Sun is the only star we can study up close. By studying this star we live with, we learn more about stars throughout the universe.
  • The Sun is a source of light and heat for life on Earth. The more we know about it, the more we can understand how life on Earth developed.
  • The Sun also affects Earth in less familiar ways.  It is the source of the solar wind; a flow of ionized gases from the Sun that streams past Earth at speeds of more than 500 km per second (a million miles per hour).
  • Disturbances in the solar wind shake Earth's magnetic field and pump energy into the radiation belts, part of a set of changes in near-Earth space known as space weather.
  • Space weather can change the orbits of satellites, shorten their lifetimes, or interfere with onboard electronics. The more we learn about what causes space weather – and how to predict it – the more we can protect the satellites we depend on.
  • The solar wind also fills up much of the solar system, dominating the space environment far past Earth.  As we send spacecraft and astronauts further and further from home, we must understand this space environment just as early seafarers needed to understand the ocean.


Tags: