NASA spacecraft sets record for fastest man-made object in history

Falling through the Sun's atmosphere at 635,266 km/h, NASA's Parker probe broke the record for the fastest object ever created by mankind.

Simulation of the Parker spacecraft flying towards the Sun's corona. Photo: NASA

The July 27 event marked a turning point in the mission’s 17th flyby of the Sun, as Parker collected data on the winds of heated charged particles and the intense magnetic field surrounding Earth’s nearest star. The new record was set less than three years after Parker’s previous speed record of 586,863.4. For comparison, at such high speeds, a spacecraft could circle Earth 15 times an hour or fly from New York to Los Angeles in just over 20 seconds, according to Science Alert .

Not only did Parker reach a record speed, it also flew closest to the Sun, just 4.5 million miles above the ocean of plasma that is thought to be the star’s surface. Since the Sun is nearly 900,000 miles across, that’s like standing just a few feet from a campfire—close enough to smell the smoke but not so close that your hair will be singed. The achievement wasn’t the result of powerful propellant, but of a series of perfectly timed maneuvers.

To complete its mission, Parker needs to fly through the Sun’s corona. NASA uses Venus flyby maneuvers to take advantage of the planet’s gravity, slowing the probe down in a spiral. After a total of 24 orbits around Venus, Parker can finally reach the Sun and collect a wealth of information that will help researchers better model the Sun’s behavior.

An Khang (According to Science Alert )

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