The Parker solar probe will be the first spcecraft sent to understand the nature and behaviour of stars.
1.1.Park solar probe: First mission to be named after living person
The latest spacecraft launched by NASA is also its first to be named after a living person. The Parker solar probe gets its name from physicist Eugene Parker, who provided concepts to the energy generating capabilities of stars. Parker, who served at the University of Chicago’s Fermi Institute, was among the first persons to coin the term ‘solar wind’, which he described as the cascade of energy emitted by the Sun.
His theories explain the existence of solar wind, which constitutes a combination of charged particles, as well as electric and magnetic fields. In addition, he had postulated that the Sun’s outermost atmosphere, was hotter than the surface itself. Many of Parker’s findings have been used to establish modern theories related to the nature and behaviour of stars.
2.First Step:Venus! Parker Solar Probe is headed for the Sun, but it's flying by Venus along the way. This isn't to see the sights — Parker will perform a gravity assist at Venus to help draw its orbit closer to the Sun. Unlike most gravity assists, Parker will actually slow down, giving some orbital energy to Venus, so that it can swing closer to the Sun.One's not enough, though. Parker Solar Probe will perform similar maneuvers six more times throughout its seven-year mission!
3.Closer to the Sun than ever before At its closest approach toward the end of its seven-year prime mission, Parker Solar Probe will swoop within 3.83 million miles of the solar surface. That may sound pretty far, but think of it this way: If you put Earth and the Sun on opposite ends of an American football field, Parker Solar Probe would get within four yards of the Sun's end zone. The current record-holder was a spacecraft called Helios 2, which came within 27 million miles, or about the 30 yard line. Mercury orbits at about 36 million miles from the Sun.
3.Closer to the Sun than ever before At its closest approach toward the end of its seven-year prime mission, Parker Solar Probe will swoop within 3.83 million miles of the solar surface. That may sound pretty far, but think of it this way: If you put Earth and the Sun on opposite ends of an American football field, Parker Solar Probe would get within four yards of the Sun's end zone. The current record-holder was a spacecraft called Helios 2, which came within 27 million miles, or about the 30 yard line. Mercury orbits at about 36 million miles from the Sun.
4.NASA Parker solar probe: Energy detecting instruments on board
This will consist of four instruments, that are expected to throw light on the behaviour of the Sun. FIELDS is one of the instruments, which is an array of five 2m-long antennas. Each of these will be able to withstand hight temperatures, and estimate the electric and magnetic fields of the star.
FIELDS will take measurements by dipping into the Sun’s atmosphere, to record readings of the total flux (combination of electric and magnetic fields) at different distances from the Sun’s surface. The phenomenon of solar wind deals with the ejection of large quantities of energy, that changes the behaviour of the Sun as well as the planets of the solar system, including Earth.
WISPR is the only imaging tool included in the Parker probe. It will help estimate masses like coronal ejections and other projectiles, while blocking out light from the Sun’s surface for visualisation. These are expected to help estimate the size of its atmosphere, and help explain the nature of radiation that emerges. WISPR consists of two cameras with radiation-hardened Active Pixel Sensor complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) detectors.
5.Parker solar probe: Radiation analysis and mapping instruments on board
Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons unit, or SWEAP, will help analyse the particles that can be found in solar winds. The instrument setup is also supported by a Solar Probe Cup (SPC) and Solar Probe Analysers (SPAN), which will also measure the velocity, density, and temperature of the components of coronal plasma SPC can catch charged particles in a vacuum, and estimate the nature of particles from collector plates.
The other component, SPAN is made up of two sensors: SPAN-A and SPAN-B. Both of these will map the movement of electrons into space, to create a mapping of the solar wind movements.
The last of these, called Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISʘIS), helps identify particles that move away from the Sun, and identify the energies of each of them across different sections of interplanetary space. The task of detecting particles with different energies is divided between two sensors: EPI-Lo (for lower energy particles) and EPI-Hi (for higher energy particles) [EPI stands for Energy Particle Instrument].
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