And this was no Icarus. It survived. Venturing just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the solar surface, its extreme proximity meant the mission controllers couldn’t communicate with the spacecraft during this flyby. After a tense two-day silence, a reassuring beacon tone reached the mission control of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) on the night of December 26th, confirming the probe was healthy and functioning normally.

“While Parker Solar Probe was closer to the Sun than any other human-made object in history, it operated exactly as designed and gathered observations never before possible,” said Helene Winters, Parker Solar Probe Project Manager at APL. The Supercluster team celebrated the remarkable moment, and decided that we needed to immortalize the record-breaking flyby with new apparel. Head over to our shop to check out the Parker Solar Probe Racing Team Longsleeve designed by Clara Early, celebrating the fastest spacecraft in history and its mission to explore our host star.

“From the heat shield to the solar array cooling system, this mission demanded groundbreaking technology to collect data scientists have awaited for decades. The spacecraft’s ability to withstand the Sun’s hostile environment is a testament to the team that built it.”

Four days later, by January 1st, 2025, telemetry received at APL provided detailed updates on the probe’s status, confirming it had followed pre-programmed commands during the flyby and that its science instruments remained operational. Later that month, NASA began retrieving the science data as the probe’s high-power antenna aligned with NASA’s Deep Space Network on Earth, enabling faster transmission rates. Launched on August 12th, 2018, aboard United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket, Parker is now in its final year, racing to unlock the Sun’s mysteries with each daring pass.

Supercluster Chief Robin Seemangal was embedded with United Launch Alliance and NASA when the mission launched from Kennedy Space Center and documented the event.

Developed and operated by APL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the Parker Solar Probe is designed to study the Sun’s corona—its upper atmosphere—up close, aiming to understand the coronal magnetic field and plasma, uncover why the corona reaches extreme temperatures, and determine what drives the supersonic solar wind. Named after astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who first theorized the solar wind in 1958, it became the first spacecraft to enter the corona in 2021. The corona is one of the Sun’s greatest mysteries since the temperatures there can exceed 1,800,000°F (1,000,000°C), while the surface, or photosphere, is a relatively cool 10,000°F (5,500°C).

“Parker Solar Probe is changing the field of heliophysics,” Winters said. “After years of enduring the heat and dust of the inner solar system, taking blasts of solar energy and radiation no spacecraft has faced, it continues to perform.”

These are shielded by a 4.5-inch (11.5-centimeter) thick carbon-composite heat shield, built to withstand temperatures up to 2,500°F (1,377°C), keeping the payload at a manageable 85°F (29°C). A cooling system protects its dual solar panels, which endure 1,000°F (538°C) during close approaches while still generating power.

With an eight-minute communication delay to Earth and no direct control possible near the Sun, autonomy is vital. The probe uses four light sensors to detect sunlight beyond the heat shield’s shadow, triggering reaction wheels to adjust its position and stay protected. NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Dr. Nicky Fox, described it as “the most autonomous spacecraft ever flown.” 

Reaching the Sun’s vicinity requires more than a direct approach. Parker used Venus’ gravity for seven flybys—starting October 2018, with the last on November 6, 2024—to iteratively lower its perihelion—the closest point to the Sun—setting up the December 2024 flyby. This method reduces the fuel needed compared to a straight shot, which would demand large amounts of propellant. Consequently, this gradual and planned approach aligned the December flyby with the solar maximum, the peak of the Sun’s 11-year cycle. During this period, solar activity surges, with more sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections, offering a prime chance to study the Sun’s dynamic behavior. 

Scientists anticipate that data from this flyby could deepen understanding of solar wind acceleration, the corona’s extreme heat, and magnetic field dynamics. Previous orbits uncovered “switchbacks”—abrupt reversals in the solar wind—and sungrazing comets, suggesting further discoveries ahead. By analyzing data across solar minimum and maximum, researchers aim to unveil the corona’s outer boundary and improve space weather forecasts that impact Earth.

So what’s in the data collected? We don’t know as of now and there’s no word on an official release yet.

NASA’s science team is likely processing and analyzing the raw data collected, a process that can take months for complex coronal data—a standard timeline for such missions. Meanwhile, Parker Solar Probe’s mission continues. It will make two more close solar passes in March and June 2025, concluding its primary 22-orbit phase. After that, NASA and APL will evaluate the probe’s remaining fuel reserves to decide its next steps—potentially extending observations until the fuel runs out.