We're About To Fly a Spacecraft Into the Sun For the First Time (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0175712585
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/12/20/1821229/were-about-to-fly-a-spacecraft-into-the-sun-for-the-first-time
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/were-about-to-fly-a-spacecraft-into-the-sun-for-the-first-time/
The spacecraft, which travels at speeds up to 430,000 miles per hour, aims to study the origins of solar wind -- the stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun's corona. The probe's heat shield will endure temperatures exceeding 2,500-degree Fahrenheit during the flyby, requiring specialized materials like sapphire crystal tubes and niobium wiring to protect its instruments.
[1] https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/were-about-to-fly-a-spacecraft-into-the-sun-for-the-first-time/
"Houston, there is a Santa Claus" (Score:4, Funny)
I hope they're going at night.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, they can't. They'd have to fly going to the Sun from the dark side of the Sun and it's like the dark side of the Moon, we can't ever see it from Earth. The corollary is that radio-transmission would then be blocked by the mass of the Sun. Great idea although thinking of it. With relay stations, it might work indeed.
Re: (Score:2)
disney owns that idea now
First time? (Score:3)
The Parker Solar Probe has been flying through the sun's corona [1]since at least 2021 [slashdot.org].
Yes, it's getting closer to the sun this time than it (or any other spacecraft) ever has before (it did it's final [2]Venus flyby on Nov 6 [nasa.gov]). The story is cool enough that it doesn't need made up "firsts".
[1] https://science.slashdot.org/story/21/12/14/2258249/nasas-parker-solar-probe-becomes-first-spacecraft-to-touch-the-sun
[2] https://blogs.nasa.gov/parkersolarprobe/2024/09/06/parker-solar-probe-lines-up-for-final-venus-flyby/
Journey to the far side of the sun (Score:1)
Cheesy but kinda fun. [1]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0... [imdb.com]
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064519/?journey-to-the-far-side-of-the-sun
They double-checked ... (Score:3)
> flying within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface
... that it's set for miles and not kilometers - right?
Re: They double-checked ... (Score:1, Insightful)
There's two kind of countries...ones that use metric units in everyday speech, and ones that landed men on the Moon, invented the airplane, the internet, and the social media that's corrupting today's youth.
Re: (Score:2)
It's truly bizarre, the story of the metric system in the US. From the Metric Act of 1866, being one of the original 17 signatory countries to the Metre Convention, the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, Executive Order 12770 (George H. W. Bush) directed departments and agencies within the executive branch of the United States Government to "take all appropriate measures within their authority" to use the metric system "as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce".
So...
Old joke comes to mind (Score:2)
In the 1960s, America landed a man on the Moon.
Not to be outdone, Poland announced a mission to land a man on the Sun.
"But the Sun is too hot!"
So they replied: "That is no problem, we will land at night.
Finally! (Score:2)
Bradbury's [1] The Golden Apples of the Sun [wikipedia.org] is coming true!
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Apples_of_the_Sun
Re: (Score:2)
New NASA Chief MTG said they sent the probe at night so it wouldn't get to hot.
Set the controls (Score:1)
for the heart of the sun...
Re: (Score:2)
Mod Parent Back Up!
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RbXIMZmVv8&pp=ygU0c2V0IHRoZSBjb250cm9scyBmb3IgdGhlIGhlYXJ0IG9mIHRoZSBzdW4gcGluayBmbG95ZA%3D%3D