How on earth do you touch the sun?

Note: this is a continuation of the Parker space probe post and the last post of the engineering marvels series. Let’s dive in.

First of all, this spacecraft has to withstand extreme temperatures (1 million deg Fahrenheit). They accomplished this by sandwiching carbon composite foam between two carbon sheets. It is a total of 4.5 inches thick everywhere, and the most surprising thing is it keeps instruments inside at a temperature lower than our body temperature. Instruments are kept at 85 deg Farenheit. 

Another problem the PSP may encounter is overheating issues. Yes, the same issues your average laptop faces, but on a grander scale near the hottest star in our galaxy. The solar panels that are used to generate the energy for the PSP can overheat in the process. To stop this, the PAP does two things. Firstly, the solar panels retract and hide away from the sun when in proximity. In addition to that, a water circulation system absorbs excess heat and throws it into space (looks like universal warming). 

One of the major concerns, amongst all others, is a viable communication system. You see, the fastest a message can come or go is 8 minutes. If the PSP was to get too close or deviate,there would be no point in that message getting to the PSP 8 minutes later; it would have turned to dust. Hence, NASA scientists have spent crafting autonomously systems that can ‘take decisions’  depending on circumstances. 

There are about a dozen more problems NASA scientists faced when building this spacecraft. At that point, it would be a list, not a post. I believe I have given you the most important things about the Parker Space Probe and its extraordinary capabilities. It is expected to break more records this year, and I hope it does, breaking all limits for human ingenuity. Bye for now.