In addition to breaking its previous distance record, the PSP passed through the solar atmosphere at a velocity of about 692,000 km/h (430,000 mph). This is equivalent to about 0.064% the speed of light, making the Parker Solar Probe the fastest human-made object ever.

The probe accelerated to 430,000 mph, faster than any spacecraft has ever flown, traveling to within 3.8 million miles of the star’s surface.

NASA has confirmed that its Parker Solar Probe is safe and fully operational after its Christmas Eve close encounter with the Sun. On December 24, 2024, the robotic probe came within a record 3.8 million miles (6.

NASA has scheduled an early Christmas present for solar researchers on Tuesday, December 24, when the Parker Solar Probe will pass 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) from the Sun – closer than it or any other spacecraft has ever gone before.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe added to the festive cheer by sending home its first detailed telemetry data soon after its record-breaking closest-ever approach to the sun.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is set to achieve a groundbreaking milestone today, on Christmas Eve, as it comes closer than ever to “touching the sun.”

NASA said scientists began receiving more detailed telemetry — or "housekeeping data" — from the spacecraft on New Year's Day.

NASA’s daring Parker Solar Probe plunged deeper into the sun's atmosphere than any human-made object before. While performing this nail-biting closest approach to the sun's surface, a tense silence fell over mission control as contact was briefly lost.