No probe has ever done this: NASA's spacecraft will touch the Sun and set new records (video).

On Tuesday, December 24, at 13:53 Kyiv time, the fastest spacecraft in history will break its own speed and distance records from the Sun. No spacecraft has achieved this before, and it is uncertain whether something similar will happen in the near future, reports Live Science.

The Parker Solar Probe, managed by NASA, will approach the Sun at the closest distance while maintaining the highest flight speed among all man-made spacecraft. Ultimately, the Parker Probe will become the fastest spacecraft in history.

NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe into space in 2018 to learn more about what occurs in the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere, known as the corona. The NASA spacecraft first flew through the solar corona three years ago.

To accomplish this, the Parker Solar Probe had to utilize gravitational assists from both the Sun and Venus. This helped it gain the necessary speed and achieve the correct orbit. To date, the spacecraft has completed 21 gravitational maneuvers around the Sun.

In October 2023 and March 2024, the Parker Solar Probe approached the Sun closer than any other spacecraft, reaching a distance of 7.2 million km from our star. Additionally, NASA's spacecraft previously achieved the highest speed among all man-made research probes, reaching 635,000 km/h.

On December 24, the NASA probe will break its own speed and distance records from the Sun. At 13:53 Kyiv time, the Parker Solar Probe will fly towards the Sun at a speed of 700,000 km/h, coming within 6.1 million km. The spacecraft will have to withstand temperatures of 1400 degrees Celsius, but it is equipped with a special protective coating.

Scientists compare the upcoming close approach of NASA's spacecraft to the significance of the first moon landing by astronauts in 1969.

To get as close to the Sun as possible and achieve record speed, the Parker Solar Probe executed its seventh and final gravitational maneuver around Venus in November.

Earlier this year, the Parker Probe flew through a coronal mass ejection for the first time, which is a flow of plasma ejected by the Sun. Its data also allowed scientists to get closer to unraveling the mystery of why the Sun's corona has temperatures in the millions of degrees Celsius, while the surface of our star has a temperature of just about 6000 degrees Celsius.

The Parker Probe is making its record flight around the Sun at a time when our star has entered a phase of peak activity known as solar maximum. This phase will last at least until the end of 2025, and such activity peaks are characterized by an increased number of solar flares and coronal mass ejections that affect our planet.

NASA scientists aim to gather more data during the Parker Probe's record close approach to the Sun regarding what happens to the magnetic field of our star during this period when the poles of the magnetic field are switching places.

In 2025, the Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to make four more close approaches to the Sun, but it is uncertain whether it will set new records. After that, the engines of the NASA spacecraft will run out of fuel, and it will likely fall into the Sun and burn up.