New NASA Mission to Sun Planned
The technology finally exists to send a probe into close orbit around the sun, which should lead to new information about numerous solar phenomena. Cynthia Graber reports.
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
Here’s one space mission that is definitely going to be unmanned—NASA is going to the sun. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is building a craft that will visit the sun’s corona. It’ll speed past the sun at 125 miles per second, be pelted with energized dust, and exposed to radiation and temperatures up to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scientists have been trying to figure out how to send such a probe for decades, but the technology didn’t exist at a feasible cost until now. The probe will circle the sun for seven years until it reaches its closest approach, about 4.1 million miles from the sun. That’s eight times closer than previous missions. It’ll provide data on a variety of phenomena, such as magnetic fields, solar winds, dusty plasma and energetic particles. Such subjects are more than just interesting—researchers say that understanding energetic particles that zip our way from the sun can affect cell phones and power grids here on the ground, and could threaten the health of astronauts in orbit. The probe is scheduled to launch in 2015.—Cynthia Graber
60-Second Science is a daily podcast. Subscribe to this Podcast: RSS | iTunes
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
