This post is for the 5% of individuals on the OT who are equal to or smarter than I am. If you don't fall into that category, discontinue reading at this point, remove your sunglasses, and stare at the sun for a full minute. Thank you for your cooperation.
60 years in the making since Dr. Eugene Parker theorized "solar winds," the Parker Solar Probe is now on its way into the sun's corona (which is actually hotter than the sun itself - info I learned watching these videos). It is amazing what all goes into flying in space, and it's even more amazing that humans will be commanding this spacecraft which will operate in 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and flying in perfect alignment for a 7 year duration and not melt. The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft in history named after a living person. The Parker Solar Probe will be the fastest man-made object in history, as well, traveling at 430,000 mph. Launched on 8/12/18, the spacecraft is already 9 million miles from Earth and will eventually reach within 3.83 million miles of our sun's surface, using seven Venus gravity flybys over 7 years to reach the 430,000 mph speeds it takes to hold a course this close to the sun without getting pulled into it. Who the fukc is figuring out this shit? Details below. True human genius.
And all of this is to get this tiny piece of equipment to our sun: the Faraday Cup, which is made of some metals I've never heard of. And I mean like vibranium and adamantium level shit in order to withstand 500x the solar energy of what our Earth's atmosphere receives.
There are materials, scientific theories, and mechanics that I've never even heard of discussed in these short videos. What these people are doing is truly amazing and will have impact through the rest of our lives, our children's lives, our grandchildren's lives, and beyond. I recommend watching them in the order listed below.
Overview video
Felipe Ruiz - Deputy Lead Mechanical Engineer (boy genius)
Tony Case - Astrophysicist and lead engineer on the
Angela Olinto - Dean, Physical Sciences, University of Chicago, Data Analysis Lead
Other resources:
Parker Solar Probe & Solar Orbiter (2020 launch) trajectories
NASA's Parker Solar Probe website
John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Parker Solar Probe website
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics website - the Faraday Cup inventors
- And the five primary scientific investigations related to the Probe
The humans responsible for this are truly extraordinary. They are the tip of the spear of American innovation, exploration, and intelligence.
60 years in the making since Dr. Eugene Parker theorized "solar winds," the Parker Solar Probe is now on its way into the sun's corona (which is actually hotter than the sun itself - info I learned watching these videos). It is amazing what all goes into flying in space, and it's even more amazing that humans will be commanding this spacecraft which will operate in 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and flying in perfect alignment for a 7 year duration and not melt. The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft in history named after a living person. The Parker Solar Probe will be the fastest man-made object in history, as well, traveling at 430,000 mph. Launched on 8/12/18, the spacecraft is already 9 million miles from Earth and will eventually reach within 3.83 million miles of our sun's surface, using seven Venus gravity flybys over 7 years to reach the 430,000 mph speeds it takes to hold a course this close to the sun without getting pulled into it. Who the fukc is figuring out this shit? Details below. True human genius.
And all of this is to get this tiny piece of equipment to our sun: the Faraday Cup, which is made of some metals I've never heard of. And I mean like vibranium and adamantium level shit in order to withstand 500x the solar energy of what our Earth's atmosphere receives.
There are materials, scientific theories, and mechanics that I've never even heard of discussed in these short videos. What these people are doing is truly amazing and will have impact through the rest of our lives, our children's lives, our grandchildren's lives, and beyond. I recommend watching them in the order listed below.
Overview video
Felipe Ruiz - Deputy Lead Mechanical Engineer (boy genius)
Tony Case - Astrophysicist and lead engineer on the
Angela Olinto - Dean, Physical Sciences, University of Chicago, Data Analysis Lead
Other resources:
Parker Solar Probe & Solar Orbiter (2020 launch) trajectories
NASA's Parker Solar Probe website
John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Parker Solar Probe website
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics website - the Faraday Cup inventors
- And the five primary scientific investigations related to the Probe
The humans responsible for this are truly extraordinary. They are the tip of the spear of American innovation, exploration, and intelligence.
