NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieves a historic Christmas Eve flyby of the sun — but confirmation of its survival may take days.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieves a historic Christmas Eve flyby of the sun — but confirmation of its survival may take days.

An illustration of the Parker Solar Probe skimming the sun closer than ever before. (Image credit: NASA/JHUAPL)

On Christmas Eve, NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieved an unprecedented milestone, flying closer to the sun than any human-made object in history — a groundbreaking accomplishment that scientists compare to the iconic Apollo moon landing of 1969.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe embarked on a historic mission this Christmas Eve, flying closer to the sun than any human-made object has ever ventured — an extraordinary technological achievement likened by scientists to the Apollo moon landing in 1969.

At 6:53 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 24, the car-sized spacecraft approached within just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the sun’s surface, nearly 10 times closer than Mercury’s orbit. Traveling at a staggering speed of 430,000 mph (690,000 kph) — fast enough to traverse from Tokyo to Washington, D.C., in under a minute — the probe shattered its own record as the fastest human-made object in history.

"This is exactly what Parker Solar Probe was designed to do," Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a Dec. 24 NASA video. "It’s a complete ‘Yay! We did it’ moment.”

Due to its proximity to the sun, mission control is unable to communicate with the probe during this critical flyby. Confirmation of its survival will come in the early hours of Dec. 27, when a beacon signal is expected to verify the success of the flyby and the spacecraft's overall health. Images from the historic event are scheduled to arrive in early January, followed by scientific data later in the month, as the probe moves farther from the sun, according to Nour Raouafi, the mission’s project scientist.

"We eagerly await that first status update from the spacecraft and the start of science data transmission in the coming weeks," said Arik Posner, Parker Solar Probe program scientist at NASA Headquarters.

"No human-made object has ever ventured this close to a star," added Nick Pinkine, mission operations manager at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. "Parker is truly exploring uncharted territory."

This remarkable mission marks yet another milestone in humanity’s exploration of the cosmos, pushing the boundaries of what is possible and providing invaluable insights into our closest star.

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