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- By Shivangi Sharma
- Thu, 25 Sep 2025 07:52 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has again amazed scientists by clocking a record-breaking speed of 687,000 kilometres per hour in its recent close pass to the Sun. This is equal to the probe's other record-breaking speeds recorded in December 2024, March 2025, and June 2025, ranking it among the fastest human-made things in history.
To get a better idea, at this velocity, the Parker Solar Probe would take only 61 seconds to go from Delhi to New York, which takes around 15 to 17 hours by straight flight. Such high velocity enables the spacecraft to make historic observations of the Sun and its control over the solar system.
Unrivalled Solar Observations
The Parker Solar Probe is also NASA's contribution to its Living With a Star programme and has been making repeated flybys of the Sun to make "unrivalled measurements" of solar action and the solar wind, particularly as the Sun heads into a more active period in its 11-year cycle. The close passes enable scientists to measure phenomena not possible from Earth or farther-out-orbiting spacecraft.
Data from the recent flyby is predicted to start arriving on Earth from September 23, 2025. Scientists anticipate that this fresh data will unravel some of the Sun's most mysterious phenomena, such as how the solar wind is generated, why the corona of the Sun is hotter than its surface, and how huge coronal ejections are created. Those processes are important to know because solar storms can affect satellites, astronaut expeditions, and even power grids on Earth.
How Parker Attains This Speed
The Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, attains its velocities through a sequence of flybys of Venus to alter its course and slowly edge closer to the Sun. With each manoeuvre, the probe accelerates as it tolerates the harsh temperatures and radiation.
Operated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the spacecraft is fitted with a heat shield that can withstand up to 1,370 degrees Celsius, allowing it to work in one of the solar system's most extreme environments.
The probe's record-breaking speed and frequent solar flybys make it special among space missions, giving scientists a peek into space weather that's essential to defending technology and life on Earth.