Can recommend Real Engineering - The Insane Engineering of the Parker Solar Probe to learn more about this fascinating mission.
It was there that I learned how hard it is to get to the sun, and how they use Venus flybys to achieve it.
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Can recommend Real Engineering - The Insane Engineering of the Parker Solar Probe to learn more about this fascinating mission.
It was there that I learned how hard it is to get to the sun, and how they use Venus flybys to achieve it.
That speed is unfathomably fast
I wonder how hot it is at 5.3-4.5m miles and if the probe has to worry about heat at that distance?
It does. It has a special shield that that protects the equipment, leaving only a few instruments exposed. The solar panels are movable, they flip back to hide behind the shield on close approach and extend when away from the Sun, it even uses a water cooling system to transfer heat away from more sensitive areas. This page on NASA's website shows how it works, including an animation of the solar panels retracting (pay no mind to the silly music in the video).