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    NASA · Flyby / Deep space

    Parker Solar Probe

    The fastest object ever built and the closest any spacecraft has come to the Sun, diving through the corona to study how the solar wind is born.

    ActiveContinuing repeated close passes through the solar corona.

    Launch date

    2018-08-12

    Destination

    Sun — corona

    Agencies

    NASA

    Objectives

    • Trace energy flow that heats the corona
    • Determine the structure of solar-wind magnetic fields
    • Explore energetic-particle acceleration

    Spacecraft

    About 685 kg, protected by an 11.4 cm carbon-composite heat shield

    Scientific instruments and systems

    • FIELDS
    • ISʘIS
    • SWEAP
    • WISPR

    Timeline

    1. 2018-08-12Launch on Delta IV Heavy
    2. 2018-11-05First perihelion
    3. 2024-12-24Closest perihelion: about 6.1 million km from the solar surface at about 192 km/s

    Major achievements

    • Fastest human-made object
    • First spacecraft to fly through the solar corona (2021)

    Status reviewed 2026-10-23. For official images and the latest updates, visit the agency pages listed under Sources.