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Home / UPSC Editorials / NASA's Parker Solar Probe Mission

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Mission - UPSC Editorials

Last Updated on Jun 14, 2025
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On 28 December 2024, NASA scientists confirmed that the Parker Solar Probe had managed to achieve its closest-ever pass by the Sun. The solar explorer had come so close to the Sun that the scientists were only 6.1 million kilometers away from the surface of the Sun. NASA announced that a historic milestone has been achieved. For the first time, a spacecraft came closer than ever to our star. Launched in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe was designed by NASA under its Living With a Star program to study the Sun-Earth system, focusing on answering basic questions about solar phenomena that impact life and society on Earth.

Analysis based on 

Editorial Why Parker Solar Probe completing closest-ever approach to Sun is significant published in The Indian Express on December 31st, 2024

Topics for UPSC Prelims

Solar system, India’s space missions

Topics for UPSC Mains

Scientific advancements and innovations in space technology, Contributions of ISRO to global space research.

Why in News?

This latest close approach of the Parker Solar Probe to the Sun is news-worthy for several reasons. It will demonstrate the technological prowess and resilience of modern space probes in withstanding extreme conditions, and it promises to yield critical data that may illuminate long-standing mysteries about the behavior of the Sun. In this respect, success in the mission also puts it in a broader context of efforts toward understanding the solar environment and its impact on Earth.

Read the article on the New Era in the Indian Space Sector!

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What is the Parker Solar Probe Mission?

The Parker Solar Probe is a mission that was launched on August 12, 2018. This mission is an objective to make a detailed observation of the Sun's outer atmosphere called the corona. The Living With a Star is a NASA broader program that looks into the studies of solar and space phenomena which influence life on Earth. The Parker Solar Probe is also equipped with a suite of scientific instruments designed to measure the Sun's magnetic fields, plasma, and energetic particles and to capture images of the solar wind.

Objectives of the Parker Solar Probe Mission

The principal objectives of the Parker Solar Probe mission are:

  • Trace the Flow of Energy: Understand how energy and heat move through the solar corona.
  • Explore the Structure and Dynamics of the Plasma and Magnetic Fields: Investigate the behavior of the Sun's plasma and magnetic fields in the region where solar wind is accelerated.
  • Understand Solar Wind Acceleration: Investigate the mechanisms behind the acceleration of solar wind and the dynamics of energetic particles.
  • Contribute to Space Weather Prediction: Enhance our ability to forecast space weather, which can impact Earth's technological systems.

Read the article on the International Space Station!

Key Features of the Parker Solar Probe Mission

The Parker Solar Probe is a technological marvel, featuring several key innovations to withstand the harsh solar environment:

  • Thermal Protection System (TPS): The spacecraft has a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite heat shield that will be able to withstand temperatures up to 1,377 degrees Celsius. This shield keeps the scientific instruments relatively cool, protecting them behind it.
  • Speed and Proximity: The spacecraft covers a tremendous distance of 692,000 kilometers per hour that enables it to reach as close as 6.1 million kilometers from the Sun's core.
  • Water Circulation System for Cooling: A unique feature would be a system of circulating water that absorbs heat, releases it, and maintains instrument functioning.
  • Instrument Suites: The spacecraft has four main instrument suites that are tasked with measuring the electric and magnetic fields, plasma waves, imaging instruments for structures in the solar wind, and energetic particles.

Read the article on the Indian Space Association (ISPA)!

Importance of the Parker Solar Probe Mission

The Parker Solar Probe mission is important for a number of reasons:

  • Understanding the Corona's Heat: Probably one of the most interesting things that the probe will investigate is the temperature of the corona. While the surface of the Sun is about 5,500 degrees Celsius, the temperature of the corona exceeds more than a million degrees Celsius. If this disparity in temperature is somehow explained, that could solve several fundamental questions concerning solar physics.
  • Origins of Solar Wind: It will enable the discovery of the origin of solar wind, which is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun and influences every part of the solar system. Solar wind is important because it determines the space weather that can knock satellites out of orbit, destroy power grids, and take down whole communications systems.
  • Prediction of Space Weather: Data from the Parker Solar Probe will improve the ability to predict space weather events, making operations of satellites and astronauts and their communication networks more safe and reliable.
  • Scientific Discovery: Data from the probe will be an addition to plasma physics, magnetic fields, and solar dynamics. This will also add to the existing knowledge about basic astrophysical processes.

Read the article on the Indian Space Policy!

ISRO’s Space Missions Related to the Sun

The Indian Space Research Organisation, India's space agency, has also ventured into missions to study the Sun. This complements international efforts to understand our star.

Aditya-L1 Mission

The Aditya-L1 mission is ISRO's dedicated solar observatory meant for the study of the Sun. It is scheduled for launch and puts in place a satellite in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, some 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth. The major objectives of the mission are:

  • Studying the Solar Corona: Investigation into the dynamic structure of the solar corona.
  • Understanding Solar Emissions: Measure solar emissions and study the impact of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
  • Solar Magnetic Fields: Map solar magnetic fields and study their interactions with Earth's magnetosphere.

Significance of Aditya-L1

Aditya-L1 will provide crucial data on solar activities and its influence on the climate and environment of Earth, which will be an important addition to global solar research. This mission will also showcase India's capabilities in space-based solar observation and augment ISRO's capabilities in heliophysics.

Read the article on the Indian Spacecraft!

The Parker Solar Probe's closest-ever approach to the Sun was completed. Such a mission represents not only state-of-the-art engineering but also has the promise of unlocking the mysteries of the corona of the Sun, the solar wind, and the space weather mechanism driving it. Concurrently, the ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission underscores India's active participation in the global campaign to understand the Sun. Together, these missions underpin international cooperation and the inquisitiveness of scientists as they further their understanding of our solar environment.

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UPSC Previous Year Questions

UPSC Previous Year Questions

Year

Question

2016

Discuss India’s achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How has the application of this technology has helped India in its socio-economic development?

UPSC Practice Questions
  1. Analyze the objectives and significance of ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission in the context of global solar exploration. How does this mission complement the Parker Solar Probe in enhancing our understanding of solar activities? (250 words)
  2. Discuss the impact of solar activities such as solar winds on the Earth's magnetosphere and technological infrastructure. Why is it important to develop accurate space weather prediction mechanisms, and how do missions like the Parker Solar Probe and Aditya-L1 contribute to this goal? (250 words)

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