The researchers reported on the success during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Tuesday. The data will help scientists explain why the corona temperature, which reaches several million degrees Celsius, is several orders of magnitude higher than the temperature around 5500 degrees on the star’s surface.
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In fact, the spacecraft flew through the corona in April during the eighth of the planned 24 orbits around the Sun. It took several months for the data to reach the scientists and for several others to be verified. The probe has already completed the ninth and tenth flights.
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A small car-sized probe weighing about 7,000 kilograms, protected by a nearly twelve-inch-thick carbon shell, must withstand more heat and radiation than any previous probe. NASA scientists hope that the mission, which is scheduled for 2025, will provide information about why the corona is many times warmer than the Sun’s surface and better understand the functioning of the stars. The data could also make future weather forecasts more accurate, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
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The spacecraft penetrated the sun’s atmosphere at least three times, moving at speeds of over 100 kilometers per second. The first of the penetrations lasted about five hours, writes The Guardian.
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The probe travels through the solar corona
Foto: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Laboratory
Monumental moment
NASA manager Thomas Zurbuchen spoke of a “monumental moment” and a “remarkable success.” “This milestone will not only give us a deeper insight into the formation of the Sun and its impact on the solar system, but everything we learn about our own star will also teach us about the stars in the rest of the universe.”
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Animation of the probe approaching the Sun.
Foto: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
The spacecraft set out for the Sun from Cape Canaveral in Florida in August 2018. The project, with a budget of around $ 1.5 billion (34 billion crowns), aims to gain new insights about our star, which will better predict solar storms that could threaten terrestrial grids. or satellite navigation.
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