NASA's Parker Solar Probe Completes 23rd Close Approach to Sun
by Mara Johnson-Groh for GSFC News
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 26, 2025

NASA's Parker Solar Probe completed its 23rd close approach to the Sun on March 22, equaling its own distance record by coming within about 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the solar surface.

The close approach (known as perihelion) occurred at 22:42 UTC - or 6:42 p.m. EDT - with Parker Solar Probe moving 430,000 miles per hour (692,000 kilometers per hour) around the Sun, again matching its own record. The spacecraft checked in on Tuesday with mission operators at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland - where the spacecraft was also designed and built - with a beacon tone indicating it was in good health and all systems were operating normally.

Perihelion marked the midpoint in the mission's 23rd solar encounter, which began March 18 and runs through Thursday, March 27. The flyby, the second at this distance and speed, allows the spacecraft to conduct unrivaled scientific measurements of the solar wind and related activity.

Related Links
Parker Solar Probe
Solar Science News at SpaceDaily