Written by Muhammad Ayman Thursday, October 19, 2023 01:00 AM
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe reached record speed as it got gravitational assistance from… Venus To approach the scorching surface of the sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the fastest human-made object ever recorded, according to the space website.
On September 27, the probe reached an astonishing speed of 394,736 mph (635,266 km/h) as it swooped close to the Sun’s surface, thanks to a little gravitational assistance from a flyby of Venus on August 21. With this close proximity to the Sun, The probe broke its previous speed record of 364,660 mph (586,863 km/h), which was set in November 2021. At the same time, the probe set a new distance record, swooping just 4.51 million miles (7.26 million km) from The surface of the Sun, which is closer than any spacecraft has ever orbited before, according to NASA.
The flybys of Venus are a crucial component of the probe’s attempt to study surface of the sun Burning, and as the probe approaches Venus, the planet absorbs some of Parker’s orbital energy, allowing it to get closer to the Sun.
Its closest approach to the Sun in late 2024 is expected to be just 3.83 million miles (6.16 million km) from the surface, and the probe will likely reach even faster speeds on its final journey around the Sun, cementing its reputation as the fastest man-made object. Absolutely.
The Parker Solar Probe launched in August 2018 on a seven-year mission to understand the sun’s corona, or the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere.
