According to the BBC, the probe, which was launched on August 12, 2018, is scheduled to pass close to the sun on December 24, 2024, at a speed of 195 kilometers per second.
On its website, NASA described the mission as an attempt to “touch the sun” that would give humans “the first ever sample of a star’s atmosphere.”
“We were actually about to land on a star,” Nour Rawafi, a scientist involved in the project, told the BBC.
– This would be a tremendous achievement for all of humanity. “It was an event on par with the 1969 moon landing,” he said.
NASA explains that thanks to the mission, people will get to know our star better, and the probe orbiting near Mercury's orbit will be closer to the surface of the Sun than any terrestrial body.
The spacecraft is collecting measurements and images that will help scientists learn more about where the solar wind comes from and how it changes. In addition, it “makes critical contributions to predicting changes in the space environment that affect life and technology on Earth.”
See also: Another giant hole has appeared in the sun. It can send strong winds towards the ground
During its journey, the spacecraft will encounter intense heat and radiation as it passes closer to the sun, seven times more than any other spacecraft.
Dr. Nikki Fox, NASA's chief science officer, told the BBC that researchers don't know what they will find during the mission, but they will be looking for temperature-related waves in the solar wind.
“I think we will see many different types of waves, which may indicate a combination of processes that people have been arguing about for years,” she added.
The above text is a reprint from the US edition of Insider, and has been prepared entirely by the editorial staff.
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