The Parker Solar Probe completed its 20th close approach to the Sun, matching previous records in both distance and speed. It reported back in good health and is scheduled for three more approaches in 2024, with one featuring a reduced proximity to the Sun after a Venus flyby. Credit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Brian Monroe
Parker Solar Probe’s 20th orbit included a perihelion that brought the spacecraft within 4.51 million miles of the Sun. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
The milestone also marked the midpoint in the mission’s 20th solar encounter, which began June 25 and continues through July 5.
Parker will fly around the Sun at the same distance and speed one more time this year — on September 30 — before making the first of its three final planned closest approaches on December 24. At that point, with Parker’s orbit shaped by the mission’s final
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