Man touched the sun for the first time! Parker probe launched into space.

　　CCTV News:Early this morning (12th) local time, that is, this afternoon Beijing time, NASA’s "Parker Solar Detector" was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

　　This "car-sized" unmanned probe costs $1.5 billion and is named after American astrophysicist Eugene Parker. It is reported that "Parker Solar Detector" can be closer to the sun than other detectors, which will help people know more about the solar corona and solar wind. The exploration plan is expected to end in June 2025 for a period of seven years.

　　Previously, the "Parker Solar Detector" was originally scheduled to be launched in the early morning of the 11 th local time. However, with only 1 minute and 55 seconds left before the launch, the launch was forced to be postponed because the rocket helium device issued a red alarm.

　　Parker, the first human coronal probe, stood shoulder to shoulder with the sun.

　　As the first "corona detector" in human history, Parker is really shoulder to shoulder with the sun. Although the Parker is only the size of a car, in order to meet multiple tests, scientists armed it with high technology.

　　The magical protective cover keeps the detector from being "baked" by the sun.

　　The biggest test of detecting the sun is high temperature. When Parker detector works near the sun, it receives about 500 times the solar radiation near the earth. In order to prevent the detector from being "baked" by the sun, engineers designed a protective cover using carbon composite materials. In the working process, the protective cover with a thickness of only 11.43 cm faces the sun, and the highest temperature can reach about 1400 degrees Celsius. However, under its protection, the working environment temperature of the detector is only 29 degrees Celsius, which is cooler than that of Beijing in summer! Although the temperature of the solar wind in the corona is as high as several million degrees, it will not affect the normal work of the detector because of its extremely low density.

　　The micro sensor allows the detector to adjust its orientation in time.

　　It takes eight minutes for the signal from the sun to reach the earth. Eight minutes may not seem like a long time, but if the instructions are not in place, the Parker is likely to be buried in the sea of fire. Therefore, Parker had a self-protection system at the beginning of its design. Many micro-sensors were distributed on the edge of the shadow of the heat shield. If any one felt the sunlight, the central computer would receive a reminder and adjust the orientation of Parker to ensure safety.

　　If all goes well, in 2024, 150 million kilometers away, Parker will send back the first batch of solar data to the earth’s home. Parker is not only exploring the sun, but also exploring the whole universe through the opportunity of exploring the sun.

　　Source of this article: CCTV News Synthesis