NASA Logo in the header
Sciences and Exploration Directorate 
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Operational

Parker Solar Probe

Parker Solar Probe will swoop to within 4 million miles of the Sun's surface, facing heat and radiation like no spacecraft before it. Launched on Aug. 12, 2018, Parker Solar Probe will provide new data on solar activity and make critical contributions to our ability to forecast major space-weather events that impact life on Earth. In order to unlock the mysteries of the corona, but also to protect a society that is increasingly dependent on technology from the threats of space weather, we will send Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun.

Organization
Launch Date

August 2018

Class

--

Websites


Key Staff

The Parker Solar Probe (formerly Solar Probe+) will be a historic mission, flying into the Sun's atmosphere (or corona), for the first time. Coming closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe will employ a combination of in situ measurements and imaging to achieve the mission's primary scientific goal: to understand how the Sun's corona is heated and how the solar wind is accelerated. The Parker Solar Probe will revolutionize our knowledge of the physics of the origin and evolution of the solar wind.

Related Publications

2024. "The Alfvén transition zone observed by the Parker Solar Probe in young solar wind – global properties and model comparisons.", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 533 (1): L70-L75 [10.1093/mnrasl/slae051] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "The Effect of Turbulence on the Angular Momentum of the Solar Wind.", The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 985 (1): L13 [10.3847/2041-8213/add325] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Modeling Hot, Anisotropic Ion Beams in the Solar Wind Motivated by the Parker Solar Probe Observations near Perihelia.", The Astrophysical Journal, 984 (2): 174 [10.3847/1538-4357/adc812] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Electron and proton peak intensities as observed by a five-spacecraft fleet in solar cycle 25.", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 693 A198 [10.1051/0004-6361/202450945] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Radial Evolution of Interplanetary Shock Properties with Heliospheric Distance: Observations from Parker Solar Probe.", The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 979 (1): L10 [10.3847/2041-8213/ada558] [Journal Article/Letter]

Contact Us

For general inquiries about the Sciences and Exploration Directorate.

Jocelyn Lynch

Project Support Specialist

301-286-6066 jocelyn.m.lynch@nasa.gov
Ellie Jeffries

Project Support Specialist

301-286-6066 ellie.jeffries@nasa.gov
Technical issues with this website may be reported to ben.pelletier@nasa.gov.
General inquiries about the scientific programs at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center may be directed to the Center Office of Communications at 1.301.286.8955.