Thursday, April 18, 2024

NASA is Preparing its First Mission to Sun

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NASA is currently making the final preparations for an incredible launch. A probe will be sent to the sun in July this summer. The spacecraft, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is meant to bring information about the outer corona.

This is the first mission to the sun so it is definitely an important one. The launch will take place in Florida on July 31. Back on April 2 the spacecraft was took from the Goddard Space Flight Center to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, and from there it was transported to Florida’s Space Coast Regional Airport by the 436th Airlift Wing of the United States Air Force.

Then, the spacecraft was moved in Titusville to the Astrotech Space Operations, and right now it undergoes testing and it is supposed to go through the final assembly. Many safety tests took place on April 4 when the probe was removed from its shipping container.

The first project that aims to conquer the sun

“This is the second most important flight Parker Solar Probe will make, and we’re excited to be safely in Florida,” said Andy Driesman, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the Parker Solar Probe project manager.

Until July, the spacecraft is supposed to go through numerous tests, so that the team can make sure that the project will be a success. This mission will launch the probe into the sun’s upper atmosphere. This is the first time something like that happens.

It will be 4 million miles next to the sun and it will be able to collect data about the solar activity. This spacecraft should help experts predict any major weather events. The project will focus especially on the solar wind, so that we can learn how the weather next to our planet is affected.

As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.