Parker Solar Probe - Extended Mission
On Dec. 24, 2024, NASA's Parker Solar Probe made its first close approach (known as perihelion) and flew approximately 3.8 million miles from the solar surface — the closest solar approach in history — while traveling about 430,000 miles per hour — the fastest any human-made object ever has traveled. As it skimmed through the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, it collected data with an array of scientific instruments, helping scientists better understand the Sun’s influence across the solar system, including events that can affect Earth. This visualization shows Parker Solar Probe's projected orbit through 2029, assuming it continues to follow its current trajectory.
Learn more about Parker Solar Probe’s upcoming perihelions - https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/parker-solar-probe/
This view of Parker's orbit tracks the last Venus flyby to the ultimate perihelion before a slow move to view the entire orbit.
A fixed camera view above the ecliptic viewing the post-perihelion views of the orbit of Parker Solar Probe.
Credits
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Data visualizer
- Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Producer
- Joy Ng (eMITS)
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Technical support
- Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
- Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Missions
This page is related to the following missions:Used as a Source In
- ID: 14865
Produced Video
Release date
This page was originally published on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
This page was last updated on Friday, May 23, 2025 at 7:12 AM EDT.