United States’ space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on Sunday launched its pioneering satellite ‘Parker Solar Probe’ into space. The liftoff took place at 3:30 am from Space Launch Complex 37 at Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida’s Tampa. ‘Parker Solar Probe’ is the mankind’s first mission to ‘touch’ the Sun. It was launched on a seven-year-long journey to disclose the mysteries and facts about the greatest star. Earlier, the launch of the satellite was called off on Saturday following a violation of a launch limit.
The spacecraft has been named after US scientist Eugene Newman Parker. In 1958, Parker had suggested that charged particles are streamed continuously from the Sun and fill up the solar space. However, the scientific community refused to believe Parker’s suggestion. At that very time, the prevailing opinion was that space was a total vacuum.
Watch: NASA launches ‘Parker Solar Probe’ to reach close to Sun
#WATCH: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) launches #ParkerSolarProbe – its mission to send a satellite closer to the Sun – from Cape Canaveral, Florida in the US. (Source: NASA) pic.twitter.com/xjIBdZDC1Q
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2018
Parker Solar Probe is a small car-sized spacecraft that will travel directly into the Sun’s atmosphere. The project worth US Dollar 1.5 billion will reveal the facts when it travels through the corona- the Sun’s outer atmosphere. During its seven-year-long journey, the spacecraft will make 24 passes through the Corona. The spacecraft carries a lineup of instruments to study the Sun. The data gathered from this instruments will help scientists to find the foundational questions about the greatest star.
According to scientists, the corona holds the answers to many outstanding questions. According to reports, the ‘corona’- Sun’s outer atmosphere, gives rise to the solar wind, which is a continuous flow of charged particles that affect the solar system and can cause devastation with communications technology on Earth. The scientists are also eager to know the source of solar wind. The space agency hopes that revelations will enable scientists to identify changes in Earth’s space environment. A mission like ‘Parker Solar Probe’ is a dream of many scientists for decades.