Andromeda
Log inJoin

NASA/JHUAPL spacecraft

Parker Solar Probe

Also parker solar probe · parker

Open in OuranosCompare its size

Active (extended into 2029 by NASA's 2026 Heliophysics Senior Review); perihelia ~6.2 million km from the Sun every 88 days.

Measured

Agency
NASA/JHUAPL
Launched
2018-08-12
From the Earth today
0.938 AU (140 million km)
Heat shield, across
2.3 m

How far, from the Earth

0.938 AU. To cross it:

  • Light7 minutes 48 seconds
  • Voyager 1's speed3.16 months
  • Driving at 100 km/h160 years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • JPL Horizons trajectory round the Sun: worst miss 1,900 km on the dates it was checked against (median 8 km); between those dates as much as about 5,800 km. Dates after the data was fetched are Horizons' predictions, which it revises as a mission flies.

Where this comes from

  • NASA/Johns Hopkins APL
  • Spacecraft trajectories: JPL Horizons, NASA/JPL-Caltech; each mission's agency credited on its card.
  • 3D model: Parker Solar Probe model: NASA/Matthew J. Garcia, NASA 3D Resources

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.