This record-breaking feat was conducted by the Parker Solar Probe, which flew to within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the sun, braving the blistering heat of our star's outer atmosphere, the corona.
The flyby, which should have occurred at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT), was the 22nd time Parker had made a close passage to the sun. Though the NASA craft is expected to make at least two more flybys of the sun, this is the closest it has ever and will ever come to the star. And, to be clear, we say "should have" because NASA had to lose contact with the spacecraft during this flyby; the first proof that Parker survived will arrive on Dec. 27, according to the agency.
Parker is no stranger to smashing records. On Sept. 21, 2023, Parker hit a speed of 394,736 miles per hour (635,266 kilometers per hour) to cement its record as the fastest object ever built by humanity.
During its Christmas Eve passage, scientists say the sun-touching spacecraft would have been traveling at 430,000 mph (692,000 kph), also breaking its previously set speed record. For comparison, that is around 300 times faster than the top speed of a Lockheed Martin jet fighter here on Earth.
This incredible feat of speed could be reached thanks to the aid of seven gravity "boosts" from Venus flybys, the last of which occurred in November 2024.
Source: www.space.com
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