NASA has confirmed that its groundbreaking Parker Solar Probe is safe and fully operational after successfully completing the closest-ever approach to the Sun by a human-made object. On December 24, the spacecraft soared within an astonishing 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the solar surface, delving into the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona.

This historic flyby was a significant milestone in solar exploration, enabling scientists to gather invaluable data about the Sun’s behavior and its impact on our solar system. The operations team at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland received a beacon signal from the probe just before midnight on Thursday, assuring them that the spacecraft survived the intense conditions it faced.

The Parker Solar Probe is expected to transmit detailed telemetry data regarding its status on January 1. Traveling at speeds reaching up to 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometers per hour), this remarkable spacecraft withstood searing temperatures as high as 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius).

NASA elaborated on the importance of this close encounter, stating, “This close-up study of the Sun allows the Parker Solar Probe to take measurements that help scientists better understand how material in this region gets heated to millions of degrees, trace the origin of the solar wind—a continuous flow of material escaping the Sun—and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to near-light speed.”

Launched in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe has been gradually tightening its orbit around the Sun through gravitational assists from Venus. Its ambitious mission aims to unravel mysteries surrounding solar phenomena that can affect space weather and, consequently, satellite communication and power systems on Earth.

As the Parker Solar Probe continues its journey, it promises to unveil secrets of the Sun that have puzzled scientists for decades. Stay tuned as we anticipate more exciting revelations in the upcoming months!