According to the BBC, the Parker rover will cruise at a speed of approximately 700 kilometers per hour at a distance of 6.16 million kilometers from the Sun’s photosphere.
Parker, which is expected to reach a speed that will cover the distance between New York and London as the crow flies in approximately 7 seconds, will thus be the closest and fastest moving human-made vehicle to the Sun.
At the rover’s closest location to the Sun, the temperature of the shields on Parker’s outer front is expected to rise to 1400 degrees.
Nour Raouafi, one of the scientists working on the Parker Project, pointed out the importance of the information Parker will collect about solar winds and radiation for the continuity of missions on the Moon surface.
Raouafi noted that the mission, which he described as “almost landing on a star”, would be a success for humanity equivalent to landing on the Moon in 1969.
During its 17th close orbit, on September 27, when it approached the Sun at 7.26 million kilometers, Parker moved at a speed of 635 kilometers per hour, gaining the title of the fastest man-made object.
Parker, which was aimed to collect information about the source, magnetic field and plasma dynamics of solar winds, was launched in August 2018.