New Delhi:
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe – first mission to ‘touch’ the Sun in the history of mankind – has been shifted to its launch pad. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, mankind’s first mission to ‘touch’ the Sun, has been moved to its launch pad and is set to take off at 3:33 am ET on Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Parker Solar Probe will enter the orbit around the Sun and read its radiation from just less than 4 million miles away.
ALSO READ: Launch of Chandrayaan 2 delayed once again, January launch more likely
Get ready for liftoff to the Sun! â˜€ï¸ Our Parker #SolarProbe spacecraft launches on a @ulalaunch #DeltaIV Heavy rocket for a historic mission to "touch" @NASASun. Set your alarm to watch starting at 3am ET on Saturday, Aug. 11. Details: https://t.co/7dMJIkKDPu pic.twitter.com/uqeFIl3bOe
— NASA (@NASA) August 11, 2018
The car-sized spacecraft is set to travel straight into the Sun’s atmosphere - corona - and will stay more than seven times closer than any spacecraft has ever gone before it, mainly due to the fact that it carries a Thermal Protection System to the spacecraft from the heat.
The Parker #SolarProbe mission to study @NASASun & its corona is older than us? How is that possible? Find out by listening to the latest episode of the #NASARocketRanch podcast: https://t.co/LrPT3pk0oT. The spacecraft lifts off at 3:33 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 11. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/jMgvIfaBqw
— NASA (@NASA) August 11, 2018
The mission will carry out its observation through the Corona and how its affect the near-Earth space and change our understanding of the biggest star completely.
The Parker Solar Probe carries several highly-innovative instruments to study the Sun and help the scientists answer long, unanswered questions about our star.
The launch of our Parker #SolarProbe spacecraft marks the beginning of a historic journey to fly closer to Sun than any other human-made object. Here’s what we hope to learn from the mission that launches at 3:33 am ET on Saturday, Aug. 11: https://t.co/N5Psu9bQjs pic.twitter.com/PH0tncY5Ay
— NASA (@NASA) August 11, 2018
ALSO READ: Dinosaurs liked perfumes that we enjoy today, says new study
The Parker Solar Probe has been a dream project for the scientists since decades, but the highly advanced technologies like the fault management system, solar array cooling system and the heat shield have been available recently to make this nearly impossible mission a reality.
The spacecraft will thoroughly study the corona – the region of the Sun only seen from Earth during total solar eclipses.
