NASA’s Parker Solar Probe: The Fastest Spacecraft Ever Just Skimmed the Sun at 430,000 MPH

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe just screamed past the Sun for the 23rd time, once again matching its own records for closest approach and fastest human-made object.

Zooming through space at 430,000 mph and skimming just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, the probe is in perfect health and sending back priceless data about our star’s mysterious and powerful behavior.

Record-Breaking Flyby Near the Sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made its 23rd close pass by the Sun on March 22, coming within about 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the solar surface, matching its own previous distance record.

The close approach, called perihelion, occurred at 22:42 UTC (6:42 p.m. EDT). At that moment, the spacecraft was traveling at an incredible speed of 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometers per hour), once again equaling its own speed record. After the flyby, the probe successfully checked in with mission control at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, where it was also designed and built, confirming that it was healthy and operating normally.

Parker Solar Probe’s 23rd orbit included a perihelion that brought the spacecraft within 3.8 million miles of the Sun. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Mission Milestone and Scientific Opportunity

This perihelion marked the halfway point in the mission’s 23rd solar encounter, which began on March 18 and continues through March 27. It’s the second time the spacecraft has reached this extreme speed and proximity to the Sun, enabling it to gather unprecedented data on the solar wind and related solar activity.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is a groundbreaking mission designed to study the Sun up close, traveling closer to its surface than any spacecraft before. Launched in 2018, the probe is on a mission to explore the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, to better understand solar wind, magnetic fields, and space weather that can affect Earth. Built to withstand extreme heat and radiation, the probe uses a specially designed heat shield to survive temperatures of nearly 2,500°F (1,377°C) as it repeatedly dives toward the Sun, reaching speeds over 430,000 miles per hour—making it the fastest human-made object in history.

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