Nasa prepares to launch probe to study the Sun

Nasa is preparing to launch a mission named Parker Solar Probe early next month to study the Sun closer than any other spacecraft.

During its seven-year mission, the spacecraft is set to fly into the Sun’s corona, an aura of plasma that surrounds the Sun, passing just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, which is six times closer than any other probe.

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab Parker Solar Probe project scientist Nicky Fox said: “The Sun’s energy is always flowing past our world.

“And even though the solar wind is invisible, we can see it encircling the poles as the aurora, which are beautiful–but reveal the enormous amount of energy and particles that cascade into our atmosphere.

“We don’t have a strong understanding of the mechanisms that drive that wind toward us, and that’s what we’re heading out to discover.”

Parker Solar Probe will be equipped with four suites of instruments to study the Sun both remotely and directly.

Using data from the spacecraft, scientists hope to study the acceleration of the solar wind, the Sun’s constant outflow of material. Data shows this happen in the corona, and scientists plan to use Parker Solar Probe’s measurements to understand this.

Scientists also hope to learn the reasons behind the corona’s high temperatures.

Additionally, they will learn about the mechanisms behind the acceleration of solar energetic particles that can reach speeds more than half as fast as the speed of light.

These particles can interfere with the electronics of satellites orbiting outside the Earth’s magnetic field.