NASA's Parker Solar Probe

• 28 Dec 2024

Source: HT 

Why in News? 

NASA's Parker Solar Probe recently set a historic record by flying closer to the Sun than any other man-made object, reaching speeds of 430,000 mph and withstanding temperatures up to 982°C. 

What are the Key Facts Related to Parker Solar Probe? 

• About:  
  • Launched in 2018, a car-sized robotic spacecraft, is named after American solar astrophysicist Eugene Newman Parker. 
    • This is the first NASA mission named for a living researcher and it's humanity’s first mission to explore within 3.8 million miles of the Sun's corona. 
  • The Probe uses an advanced carbon-composite heat shield to withstand extreme temperatures. 
• Objectives: 
  • The Parker Solar Probe aims to approach within 6.5 million kilometers of the Sun to study energy flow, solar corona heating. 
    • It also investigates the source of solar winds, high-speed streams of charged particles that affect space weather. 
  • To investigate the Sun’s corona, and understand why it is hotter than the Sun's surface, a long-standing mystery in astrophysics. 
  • To determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind. 
  • To explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles. 

Aditya-L1 Mission 

• The Aditya-L1 mission is India’s solar observatory at Lagrange Point L1, enabling continuous observation of the Sun's chromospheric and coronal dynamics. 
• The spacecraft will be positioned in a halo orbit around Lagrange Point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, approximately 1.5 million km from Earth. 
• The spacecraft will carry seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic and particle detectors. 

Lagrange Points 

• About: 
  • Lagrange Points are positions in space within a two-body gravitational system where a small object can remain stable. 
  • It enables spacecraft to maintain stable positions with minimal fuel consumption by balancing the gravitational forces of two large bodies with the centripetal force required for the smaller object to move in sync with them. 
• Types:  
  • The Lagrange point L1 lies between the Sun-Earth line. The distance of L1 from Earth is approximately 1% of the Earth-Sun distance. 
  • L2, located behind Earth from the Sun, offers ideal conditions for observing the universe without Earth's shadow interference. 
  • L3, located behind the Sun, opposite Earth, offers potential observations of the Sun's far side. 
  • Objects at L4 and L5 maintain stable positions, forming an equilateral triangle with the two larger bodies.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Prelims:

Q1. In the context of space technology, what is “Bhuvan”, recently in the news? (2010)

(a) A mini satellite launched by ISRO for promoting the distance education in India 

(b) The name given to the next Moon Impact Probe, for Chandrayaan-II 

(c) A geoportal of ISRO with 3D imaging capabilities of India 

(d) A space telescope developed by India

Ans: (c)