Today the fastest moving human object ever made came the closest to a star we have ever gotten, with the Parker Solar Probe

“The mission’s close-up with the sun is the culmination of a dream that dates to the dawn of the space age” — generations have worked on this project 

A heat shield of carbon foam only a few inches thick protects the internals of the craft from the sun’s heat — temperatures so hot they can melt any metal 

The spacecraft will be out of contact until Dec. 27, when Parker is scheduled to send a message back to Earth confirming its health.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/24/science/nasa-parker-solar-probe-sun.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j04.AGdc.btmyaHiq-6LP&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&tgrp=off

My son recently did a report on the Parker Solar Probe. It really is an insane scientific achievement.

For context, if the distance between Earth and the Sun was the equivalent to the length of an American football field, the spacecraft would have been about four yards from the end zone, moving at 430,000 MPH 🤯

Navigating the world of finance by day, pondering its flaws by night. ETH Maxi