Definition
Parker Solar Probe is a NASA mission designed to investigate the fundamental plasma physics of the near-Sun plasma environment by flying into its outermost atmosphere known as the corona, a region which has never been explored before. It will perform the closest-ever in situ and remote sensing observations of the coronal and solar wind plasma as close as 9.8 solar radii (Rs) from the center of the Sun (0.045 A.U).
History
The idea of the Parker Solar Probe mission dates back to the 1958 Simpson Committee Report which proposed several space missions including “a solar probe to pass inside the orbit of Mercury to study the particles and fields in the vicinity of Mercury.” The concept of this mission, originally called “Solar Probe” has been revised many times over more than five decades, nevertheless its main objective has always been a close encounter with the Sun.
It is only until 2014 that “Solar Probe” mission was confirmed and started to be developed as part of NASA’s...
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Abbreviations
- PSP:
-
Parker Solar Probe
- A.U.:
-
Astronomical Unit
- Rs:
-
Solar Radii
- WISPR:
-
Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe
- SWEAP:
-
Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons
- ISIS:
-
Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun energetic particle
- SPC:
-
Solar Probe Cup
- SPAN:
-
Solar Probe ANalyzers
References and Further Reading
Bale SD, Goetz K, Harvey PR, et al (2016) The FIELDS instrument suite for solar probe plus. Measuring the coronal plasma and magnetic field, plasma waves and turbulence, and radio signatures of solar transients. Space Sci Rev 204:49
Fox NJ, Velli MC, Bale SD, et al (2016) The solar probe plus mission: humanity’s first visit to our star. Space Sci Rev 204:7
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe-humanity-s-first-visit-to-a-star
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe-instruments
Kasper JC, Abiad R, Austin G, et al (2016) Solar wind electrons alphas and protons (SWEAP) investigation: design of the solar wind and coronal plasma instrument suite for solar probe plus. Space Sci Rev 204:131
McComas DJ, Alexander N, Angold N, et al (2016) Integrated science investigation of the sun (ISIS): design of the energetic particle investigation. Space Sci Rev 204:187
Vourlidas A, Howard RA, Plunkett SP, et al (2016) The wide-field imager for solar probe plus (WISPR). Space Sci Rev 204:83
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Hadid, L.Z., Witasse, O. (2022). Parker Solar Probe. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5557-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5557-1
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