Overview
- The probe reached perihelion on March 11 at roughly 3.8 million miles (6.2 million kilometers) from the Sun’s surface.
- During the March 6–16 encounter, instruments recorded in situ measurements of solar wind, coronal mass ejections, and solar flares.
- Parker matched its record top speed of about 430,000 mph (approximately 692,000 km/h) during the flyby.
- Out of contact by design, the spacecraft operated autonomously and sent a March 14 health beacon to Johns Hopkins APL confirming normal systems.
- Mission teams expect downlink of science from this pass to begin March 18, with the extended campaign planned to continue into the late 2020s.