NASA's Parker Solar Probe to Make Historic Closest Approach to the Sun

The spacecraft will fly within 3.8 million miles of the Sun's surface on Christmas Eve, gathering unprecedented data on solar wind and the Sun's corona.

The Parker Solar Probe is set to come within 3.8 million miles of the Sun's surface on December 24, the closest any human-made object has ever approached the star.
This mission aims to study the Sun's corona, the outermost atmospheric layer, to better understand phenomena like solar wind acceleration and the heating of the corona.
The spacecraft, traveling at a record 430,000 miles per hour, is equipped with a heat shield capable of withstanding temperatures up to 2,500°F while keeping its instruments at room temperature.
Scientists expect the probe's findings to improve predictions of space weather, which can impact satellites, power grids, and future astronaut missions.
The Parker Solar Probe has already made history, becoming the first spacecraft to touch the Sun's atmosphere in 2021, and its mission will continue into 2025 with additional close encounters.