Parker Solar Probe
Model of the Parker Solar Probe | |||||||||||||||
| Names | Solar Probe (before 2002) Solar Probe Plus (2010–2017) Parker Solar Probe (since 2017) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission type | Heliophysics | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | NASA / Applied Physics Laboratory | ||||||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2018-065A | ||||||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 43592 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | parkersolarprobe | ||||||||||||||
| Mission duration | 7 years (planned) Elapsed: 6 years, 10 months and 6 days | ||||||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Applied Physics Laboratory | ||||||||||||||
| Launch mass | 685 kg (1,510 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Dry mass | 555 kg (1,224 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Payload mass | 50 kg (110 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Dimensions | 1 × 3 × 2.3 m (3.3 × 9.8 × 7.5 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Power | 343 W (at closest approach) | ||||||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||||||
| Launch date | 12 August 2018, 07:31 UTC | ||||||||||||||
| Rocket | Delta IV Heavy / Star 48BV | ||||||||||||||
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC‑37 | ||||||||||||||
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance | ||||||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||||||
| Reference system | Heliocentric orbit | ||||||||||||||
| Semi-major axis | 0.388 AU (58.0 million km; 36.1 million mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Perihelion altitude | 0.046 AU (6.9 million km; 4.3 million mi; 9.86 R☉) | ||||||||||||||
| Aphelion altitude | 0.73 AU (109 million km; 68 million mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Inclination | 3.4° | ||||||||||||||
| Period | 88 days | ||||||||||||||
| Transponders | |||||||||||||||
| Band | Ka-band, X-band | ||||||||||||||
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Mission insignia Large Strategic Science Missions Heliophysics Division Living With a Star program | |||||||||||||||
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP; previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus or Solar Probe+) is a NASA space probe launched in 2018 to make observations of the Sun's outer corona.
It used repeated gravity assists from Venus to develop an eccentric orbit, approaching within 9.86 solar radii (6.9 million km or 4.3 million miles) from the center of the Sun. At its closest approach in 2024, its speed relative to the Sun was 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph) or 191 km/s (118.7 mi/s), which is 0.064% the speed of light. It is the fastest object ever built on Earth.
The project was announced in the fiscal 2009 budget year. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory designed and built the spacecraft, which was launched on 12 August 2018. It became the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person, honoring physicist Eugene Newman Parker, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago.
On 29 October 2018, at about 18:04 UTC, the spacecraft became the closest ever artificial object to the Sun. The previous record, 42.73 million kilometers (26.55 million miles) from the Sun's surface, was set by the Helios 2 spacecraft in April 1976. At its perihelion on 27 September 2023, the PSP's closest approach was 7.26 million kilometers (4.51 million miles), reaching this distance again on 29 March 2024.
On 24 December 2024 at 11:53 UTC, PSP made its closest approach to the Sun, coming to a distance of 6.1 million km (3.8 million miles) from the surface. Its beacon signal was received on 26 December, showing that it had survived the passage through the corona. Detailed telemetry was received 1 January 2025.
In 2025, the teams from NASA, Johns Hopkins, and partners were awarded the 2024 Collier Trophy for their achievements.