Nasa spacecraft ‘operating normally’ after closest-ever approach to sun

An artist’s impression of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the sun (John Hopkins APL/Nasa/PA) - (PA Media)

A Nasa spacecraft which made the closest-ever approach to the sun is safe and “operating normally”, the space agency said.

On Christmas Eve, the Parker Solar Probe came within 3.8 million miles of the sun’s surface while moving at 430,000 miles per hour, according to Nasa.

It potentially endured temperatures of up to 982C.

Nasa said the mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, received the signal on Boxing Day evening.

(PA Graphics) (PA Graphics)

The spacecraft is expected to send back detailed data about its condition and experiences on January 1.

Nasa said: “Following its record-breaking closest approach to the sun, Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe has transmitted a beacon tone back to Earth indicating it’s in good health and operating normally.”

Scientists hope the mission will allow them to measure how material is heated to millions of degrees, find where solar wind comes from and learn how energetic particles reach near light speeds.

Since the spacecraft launched in 2018, it has circled gradually closer to the sun – flying past Venus in order to use the planet’s gravity to move it into a tighter orbit.

When it first passed into the sun’s atmosphere in 2021, the probe made unexpected discoveries about the boundary of the corona.