Parker Solar Probe - Wikipedia Parker Solar Probe Parts of this article ( those related to dead link ) need to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( August 2017 ) This article is about the NASA in - situ heliophysics orbiter. For the European Space Agency in - situ heliophysics orbiter, see Solar Orbiter. Parker Solar Probe Artist 's impression of Parker Solar Probe Names Solar Probe ( -- 2002 ) Solar Probe Plus ( 2010 -- 17 ) Mission type Solar heliophysics orbiter Operator NASA Applied Physics Laboratory Website solarprobe.jhuapl.edu Mission duration 6 years, 321 days ( planned ) Spacecraft properties Manufacturer Applied Physics Laboratory Launch mass 610 kg ( 1,340 lb ) Dry mass 555 kg ( 1,224 lb ) Payload mass 50 kg ( 110 lb ) 1.0 m × 3.0 m × 2.3 m ( 3.3 ft × 9.8 ft × 7.5 ft ) Power 343 W ( at closest approach ) Start of mission Launch date July 31 -- August 19, 2018 ( planned ) Rocket Delta IV Heavy / Star - 48BV Launch site Cape Canaveral SLC - 37 Orbital parameters Reference system Heliocentric Perihelion 6.0 million km ; 0.040 AU ( 3.7 million mi ) Apohelion 109.3 million km ; 0.730 AU ( 67.9 million mi ) Inclination 3.4 ° Period 88 days Transponders Band K band X band Instruments SWEAP Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons Investigation SPC Solar Probe Cup SPAN Solar Probe Analyzers WISPR Wide - field Imager for Solar Probe FIELDS Electromagnetic Fields Investigation ISIS ‒ EPI Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun Energetic Particle Instruments Official insignia for the Parker Solar Probe mission Parker Solar Probe ( previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus, or Solar Probe+ ) is a planned NASA robotic spacecraft to probe the outer corona of the Sun. It will approach to within 8.5 solar radii ( 5.9 million kilometers or 3.67 million miles ) to the ' surface ' ( photosphere ) of the Sun. The project was announced as a new mission start in the fiscal 2009 budget year. On May 1, 2008 Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory announced it will design and build the spacecraft, on a schedule to launch it in 2015. The launch date has since been pushed back to 2018. A Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle will enable the mission to become the fastest spacecraft to date. On May 31, 2017 the probe was renamed after solar astrophysicist Eugene Parker. This was the first time a NASA spacecraft was named after a living person. Contents 1 History 2 Mission and trajectory 2.1 Scientific goals 2.2 Timeline 3 See also 4 References 5 External links History The Parker Solar Probe originates from a predecessor Solar Orbiter project conceived in the 1990s. Similar in design and objectives, the Solar Probe mission served as one of the centerpieces of the eponymous Outer Planet / Solar Probe ( OPSP ) program formulated by NASA. The first three missions of the program were planned to be the Solar Orbiter, the Pluto and Kuiper Belt reconnaissance mission Pluto Kuiper Express, and the Europa Orbiter astrobiology mission focused on Europa. Following the appointment of Sean O'Keefe as Administrator of NASA, the entirety of the OPSP program was cancelled as part of President George W. Bush 's request for the 2003 United States federal budget. Administrator O'Keefe cited a need for a restructuring of NASA and its projects, falling in line with the Bush Administration 's wish for NASA to refocus on `` research and development, and addressing management shortcomings. '' The cancellation of the program also resulted in the initial cancellation of New Horizons, the mission that won the competition to replace Pluto Kuiper Express in the former OPSP program. That mission, which would eventually be launched as the first mission of the New Frontiers program, a spiritual successor to the OPSP program, would undergo a lengthy political battle to secure funding for its launch, which occurred in 2006. Plans for the Solar Probe mission would later manifest as the Solar Probe Plus in the early 2010s. Mission and trajectory Apparent size of the Sun as seen from the orbit of the Parker Solar Probe compared to its apparent size seen from Earth. The Parker Solar Probe mission design uses repeated gravity assists at Venus to incrementally decrease the orbital perihelion to achieve multiple passes of the Sun at approximately 8.5 solar radii, or about 6 million km ( 3.7 million mi ; 0.040 AU ). The mission is designed to survive the harsh environment near the Sun, where the incident solar intensity is approximately 520 times the intensity at Earth orbit, by the use of a solar shadow - shield. The solar shield, at the front of the spacecraft, is made of reinforced carbon - carbon composite. The spacecraft systems and scientific instruments are located in the central portion of the shield 's shadow, where direct radiation from the sun is fully blocked. The primary power for the mission will be a dual system of photovoltaic arrays. A primary photovoltaic array, used for the portion of the mission outside 0.25 AU, is retracted behind the shadow shield during the close approach to the Sun, and a much smaller secondary array powers the spacecraft through closest approach. This secondary array uses pumped - fluid cooling to maintain operating temperature. As the probe passes around the Sun, it will achieve a velocity of up to 200 km / s ( 120 mi / s ) making it by any measure, the fastest manmade object ever, almost three times as fast as the current record holder, Helios - B. Scientific goals Determine the structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields at the sources of solar wind. Trace the flow of energy that heats the corona and accelerates the solar wind. Determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles. Explore dusty plasma near the Sun and its influence on solar wind and energetic particle formation. Timeline Date Event July 31, 2018 Launch Sep. 28, 2018 First flyby of Venus Nov. 1, 2018 Perihelion # 1 Mar. 31, 2019 Perihelion # 2 Aug. 28, 2019 Perihelion # 3 Dec. 21, 2019 Second flyby of Venus Jan. 24, 2020 Perihelion # 4 June 2, 2020 Perihelion # 5 July 6, 2020 Third flyby of Venus Sep. 22, 2020 Perihelion # 6 Jan. 13, 2021 Perihelion # 7 Feb. 16, 2021 Fourth flyby of Venus Apr. 24, 2021 Perihelion # 8 Aug. 5, 2021 Perihelion # 9 Oct. 11, 2021 Fifth flyby of Venus Nov. 16, 2021 Perihelion # 10 Feb. 21, 2022 Perihelion # 11 May 28, 2022 Perihelion # 12 Sep. 1, 2022 Perihelion # 13 Dec. 6, 2022 Perihelion # 14 Mar. 13, 2023 Perihelion # 15 June 17, 2023 Perihelion # 16 Aug. 16, 2023 Sixth flyby of Venus Sep. 23, 2023 Perihelion # 17 Dec. 24, 2023 Perihelion # 18 Mar. 25, 2024 Perihelion # 19 Jun. 25, 2024 Perihelion # 20 Sep. 25, 2024 Perihelion # 21 Nov. 2, 2024 Seventh flyby of Venus Dec. 19, 2024 First close approach to Sun Mar. 18, 2025 Perihelion # 23 June 14, 2025 Perihelion # 24 After the first Venus fly - by, the probe will be in an elliptical orbit with a period of 150 days ( two - thirds the period of Venus ), making three orbits while Venus makes two. On the second fly - by, the period shortens to 130 days. After less than two orbits ( only 198 days later ) it encounters Venus a third time at a point earlier in the orbit of Venus. This encounter shortens its period to half of that of Venus, or about 112.5 days. After two orbits it meets Venus a fourth time at about the same place, shortening its period to about 102 days. After 237 days it meets Venus for the fifth time and its period is shortened to about 96 days, three - sevenths that of Venus. It then makes seven orbits while Venus makes three. The sixth encounter, almost two years after the fifth, brings its period down to 92 days, two - fifths that of Venus. After five more orbits ( two orbits of Venus ) it meets Venus for the seventh and last time, decreasing its period to 88 or 89 days and allowing it to approach close to the sun. See also Advanced Composition Explorer ( ACE ), launched 1997, still operational. List of vehicle speed records MESSENGER Solar Orbiter, 45 R STEREO ( Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory ), launched 2006, still operational. WIND ( spacecraft ) launched 1994, still operational. References Jump up ^ `` Parker Solar Probe ''. NASA. Retrieved June 13, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Clark, Stephen ( March 18, 2015 ). `` Delta 4 - Heavy selected for launch of solar probe ''. Spaceflight Now. Retrieved March 18, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Chang, Kenneth ( May 31, 2017 ). `` Newly Named NASA Spacecraft Will Aim Straight for the Sun ''. New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Jump up ^ Applied Physics Laboratory ( November 19, 2008 ). `` Feasible Mission Designs for Solar Probe Plus to Launch in 2015, 2016, 2017, or 2018 '' ( PDF ). Johns Hopkins University. Archived from the original (. PDF ) on April 18, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2010. Jump up ^ Tony Phillips ( 2010 - 06 - 10 ). `` NASA Plans to Visit the Sun ''. NASA. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 02. Jump up ^ M. Buckley ( 2008 - 05 - 01 ). `` NASA Calls on APL to Send a Probe to the Sun ''. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ M. Buckley ( 2012 - 03 - 05 ). `` NASA Solar Study Mission Moves to Next Design Stage ''. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 12 March 2012. Jump up ^ Scharf, Caleb A. `` The Fastest Spacecraft Ever ? ''. Scientific American Blog Network. Jump up ^ Bruno, Tory ( 21 July 2017 ). `` PSP launch vehicle tweet ''. @ torybruno. Jump up ^ N. Davis ( 2017 - 05 - 31 ). `` Nasa 's hotly anticipated solar mission renamed to honour astrophysicist Eugene Parker ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` NASA Renames Solar Probe Mission to Honor Pioneering Physicist Eugene Parker ''. NASA. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mcnamee Chosen to Head NASA 's Outer Planets / Solar Probe Projects ''. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ). April 15, 1998. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017. Jump up ^ Maddock, R.W. ; Clark, K.B. ; Henry, C.A. ; Hoffman, P.J. ( March 7, 1999 ). `` The Outer Planets / Solar Probe Project : `` Between an ocean, a rock, and a hot place '' ``. IEEE Xplore. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Institution of Engineering and Technology. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Berger, Brian ( February 4, 2002 ). `` NASA Kills Europa Orbiter ; Revamps Planetary Exploration ''. Space.com. Purch Group. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017. Jump up ^ Savage, Donald ( November 29, 2001 ). `` NASA Selects Pluto - Kuiper Belt Mission Phase B Study ''. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ). Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015. Jump up ^ Hand, Eric ( June 25, 2015 ). `` Feature : How Alan Stern 's tenacity, drive, and command got a NASA spacecraft to Pluto ''. Science ( journal ). American Association for the Advancement of Science. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015. Jump up ^ Fazekas, Andrew ( September 10, 2010 ). `` New NASA Probe to Dive - bomb the Sun ''. National Geographic. 21st Century Fox / National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Solar Probe Plus : A NASA Mission to Touch the Sun : ''. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. 4 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ G.A. Landis, P.C. Schmitz, J. Kinnison, M. Fraeman, L. Fourbert, S. Vernon and M. Wirzburger, `` Solar Power System Design for the Solar Probe+ Mission, '' AIAA Paper - 2008 - 5712, International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, Cleveland OH, 28 -- 30 July 2008. Jump up ^ `` Aircraft Speed Records ''. Aerospaceweb.org. 13 November 2014. Jump up ^ `` Fastest spacecraft speed ''. guinnessworldrecords.com. 26 July 2015. Jump up ^ Parker Solar Probe - Check123, Video Encyclopedia, retrieved 2017 - 06 - 01 Jump up ^ See data and figure at `` Solar Probe Plus : The Mission ''. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. 2017. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parker Solar Probe. Solar Probe Plus at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Solar Probe Plus Mission Engineering Study Report NASA -- Heliophysics Research Explorers and Heliophysics Projects Division ( EHPD ) Solar space missions Current ACE DSCOVR GGS WIND Hinode ( Solar - B ) IRIS MinXSS PICARD RHESSI SOHO SDO SOLAR STEREO Past Apollo Telescope Mount ESRO 2B Genesis GOES 13 Helios Hinotori ( Astro - A ) IMP - 8 Intercosmos 26 ISEE 1 -- 3 Koronas - Foton Orbiting Solar Observatory OSO 1 OSO 2 OSO 3 OSO 4 OSO 5 OSO 6 OSO 7 OSO 8 Solwind Pioneer 5 Pioneer 6, 7, and 8 Prognoz 6 SolarMax Spartan 201 Taiyo ( SRATS ) TRACE Ulysses Yohkoh ( Solar - A ) Planned ADAHELI Aditya - 1 Parker Solar Probe Proba - 3 Solar - C Solar Orbiter Solar Sentinels Cancelled Pioneer H OSO J Sun - Earth SORCE SXI ACRIMSAT Future spaceflights Crewed 2017 Soyuz MS - 07 ( 30 November ) 2018 New Shepard Soyuz MS - 08 ( March ) Soyuz MS - 09 ( May ) Dragon 2 DM2 ( June ) Starliner DM2 ( August ) Soyuz MS - 10 ( September ) Soyuz MS - 11 ( November ) Shenzhou - 12 SpaceX Lunar Tourism Mission 2019 + Soyuz MS - 12 ( Mar 2019 ) Orion EM - 2 / Power and Propulsion Bus ( 2021 ) Orion EM - 3 ( 2023 ) SpX - ITS ( 2024 for 1st Mars departure ) Uncrewed 2017 ADM - Aeolus ASNARO - 2 ( 11 November ) BSAT - 4a ( 29 September ) Chang'e 5 ( November ) Cygnus CRS OA - 8E GCOM - C / SLATS HYLAS - 4 ICESat - 2 IDEA OSG 1 Intelsat 37e JPSS - 1 LightSail 2 Michibiki 4 ( 9 October ) MX - 1E PRISMA Progress MS - 07 ( October ) Sentinel - 3 B Sentinel - 5 Precursor SES - 11 ( October ) SES - 12 SES - 14 SES - 16 SpaceX CRS - 13 TeamIndus / Hakuto ( 28 December ) 2018 BepiColombo ( October ) Boe - OFT ( June ) Chandrayaan - 2 Chang'e 4 CHEOPS Cygnus CRS OA - 9E Cygnus CRS OA - 10E Es'hail 2 GOSAT - 2 / KhalifaSat / Diwata - 2 B / PROITERES - 2 / Stars - AO / AUTcube2 InSight / Mars Cube One ( 5 May ) James Webb Space Telescope ( October ) Kounotori 7 ( February ) Kounotori 8 MicroDragon / RISESAT / ALE / OrigamiSat - 1 / AOBA - VELOX - IV / NEXUS Nauka ( Mid-2018 ) Parker Solar Probe ( 31 July ) Prichal ( Q3 ) Progress MS - 08 Progress MS - 09 Progress MS - 10 SELENE - 2 SpaceIL SpaceX CRS - 14 SpaceX CRS - 15 SpaceX CRS - 16 SpaceX CRS - 17 SpaceX CRS - 18 Spektr - RG Superbird - B3 TESS ( March ) Tianhe - 1 WGS - 10 2019 Aditya Cygnus CRS OA - 11 EarthCARE ( August ) JCSAT - 17 JCSAT - 18 JDRS Kounotori 9 Orion EM - 1 Lunar Flashlight NEA Scout BioSentinel SkyFire Lunar IceCube CuSP LunaH - Map EQUULEUS OMOTENASHI ArgoMoon Cislunar Explorers CU - E3 Miles Peregrine Progress MS - 11 Progress MS - 12 Solar Orbiter ( Feb ) SpaceX CRS - 19 SpaceX CRS - 20 2020 AIMlight ( October ) ALOS - 3 B330 Chang'e 6 Chinese Mars mission Euclid ExoMars rover / surface platform ( July ) Hope ( July ) Inmarsat - 6 F1 IXPE Mars 2020 Nano - JASMINE NICT Mars mission ( July ) QZS - 1R Space Complex Alpha 2021 + DART ( July 2021 ) HTV - X1 ( 2021 ) Lucy ( 2021 ) Spektr - UV ( 2021 ) XARM / SLIM ( March 2021 ) MetOp - SG ( 2021 -- 22 ) DESTINY+ ( 2022 ) FLEX ( 2022 ) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer ( 2022 ) Mars 2022 orbiter ( 2022 ) Psyche ( 2022 ) Tiangong - 3 ( 2022 ) Europa Clipper ( 2022 + ) PLATO ( 2026 ) Europa Lander ( 2026 + ) Luna - Glob ( 2026 + ) Venera - D ( 2026 + ) WFIRST ( mid-2020s ) ATHENA ( 2028 ) LISA ( 2034 ) Recently X-37B ( 7 September ) Amazonas 5 ( 11 September ) Soyuz MS - 06 ( 13 September ) GLONASS - M 752 ( 22 September ) NROL - 42 / Trumpet ( 24 September ) List of proposed missions to the Moon List of proposed space observatories Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parker_Solar_Probe&oldid=800120969 '' Categories : Missions to the Sun Proposed spacecraft Future spaceflights Artificial satellites orbiting the Sun 2018 in spaceflight Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles in need of updating from August 2017 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Use American English from June 2017 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Use mdy dates from June 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español فارسی Français हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 11 September 2017, at 16 : 42. 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Question: where is the parker solar probe travelling to
Answer: the outer corona of the Sun