NASAA NASA spacecraft made history by surviving the closest approach ever to the Sun.
Scientists have received a signal from Parker solar probe just before midnight on Thursday after being incommunicado for several days during its extremely hot flyover.
NASA said the probe was “safe” and operating normally after passing just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the sun's surface.
The probe plunged into our star's outer atmosphere on Christmas Eve, enduring brutal temperatures and extreme radiation in its quest to better understand how the Sun works.
NASA then waited nervously for a signal, which was expected at 05:00 GMT on December 28.
Traveling at up to 430,000 mph (692,000 kmph), the spacecraft can withstand temperatures of up to 1,800F (980C), according to NASA's website.
“This close study of the Sun allows Parker Solar Probe to make measurements that help scientists better understand how material in this region is heated to millions of degrees, trace the origin of the solar wind (a continuous flow of material leaving the Sun ) , and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to speeds close to the speed of light,” the agency said.
Dr Nicola Fox, head of science at NASA, previously told BBC News: “For centuries people have studied the Sun, but you don't get a sense of the atmosphere of a place until you actually go (and) visit it.
“And so we can't really experience our star's atmosphere unless we fly through it.”
NASAThe Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018, heading toward the center of our solar system.
It had already passed the Sun 21 times, getting ever closer, but the Christmas Eve visit was a record.
At its closest approach, the probe was 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the surface of our star.
That might not sound that close, but Dr. Fox put it into perspective. “We're 93 million miles from the Sun, so if I put the Sun and Earth a meter apart, the Parker Solar Probe is 4cm from the Sun – so it's close.”
The probe withstands temperatures of 1400C and radiation that could damage the onboard electronics.
It was protected by an 11.5 cm (4.5 in) thick carbon composite shield, but the spacecraft's tactic was to get in and out quickly.
In fact, it traveled faster than any man-made object, flying at 430,000 miles per hour – the equivalent of flying from London to New York in less than 30 seconds.
Parker's speed comes from the immense gravitational pull he feels as he falls towards the Sun.
PA MediaSo why go to all this effort to “touch” the Sun?
Scientists hope that as the spacecraft passes through our star's outer atmosphere – its corona – it will have collected data that will solve a long-standing mystery.
“The corona is really, really hot and we have no idea why,” explained Dr. Jennifer Millard, an astronomer at Fifth Star Labs in Wales.
“The surface of the Sun is about 6000C or so, but the corona, that tenuous outer atmosphere that you can see during solar eclipses, reaches millions of degrees – and that's further away from the Sun. So how does this atmosphere get hotter?”
The mission should also help scientists better understand the solar wind, the constant stream of charged particles erupting from the corona.
When these particles interact with Earth's magnetic field, the sky lights up with dazzling auroras.
But this so-called space weather can also cause problems by knocking out power grids, electronics and communications systems.
“Understanding the Sun, its activity, space weather, the solar wind is so important to our daily lives on Earth,” Dr Millard said.
NASANASA scientists faced an anxious wait over Christmas while the spacecraft was out of touch with Earth.
Dr. Fox expected the team to text her with a green heart to let her know the tube was OK as soon as the signal was sent home.
She previously admitted she was nervous about the daring attempt but believed in the probe.
“I'll worry about the spaceship. But we really designed it to withstand all these brutal, brutal conditions. It's a sturdy, sturdy little spacecraft.''