Scientists await signal from NASA's Parker Solar Probe after historic close sun flyby. Will it phone home?
NASA's Parker Solar Probe completes closest sun flyby; scientists await status update.

On December 24, NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieved a groundbreaking milestone by making the closest-ever approach to the sun, venturing within 3.8 million miles. This achievement is the culmination of its mission to study the sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, which is hotter than its surface.
Traveling at an unprecedented speed of 430,000 mph, the Parker Solar Probe has faced temperatures as high as 1,800°F. Scientists, led by Nicola Fox and Arik Posner, eagerly anticipate receiving a status signal on December 27 and detailed telemetry on January 1, hoping for data from this closest encounter.
The mission has been carefully orchestrated since its 2018 launch, with gravity assists from Venus and multiple sun flybys leading up to this event. NASA's team is not only eager to learn from this data but also to further understand solar phenomena that have puzzled them for years, such as the corona's heat.