The Team Behind The Parker Spacecraft And The Solar Dips Missions... Just Won The Collier Award. KUDOS!

The excellent team of engineers and scientists from NASA, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and more than three dozen other partner organizations across the country that designed, engineered, built and flew the Parker Solar Probe mission were just awarded the 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association.

Well-deserved! And here is just a bit of what they achieved, and we covered over the last eight or so years:

. . .On Dec. 24, 2024, Parker Solar Probe made its closest approach to the Sun, passing deep within the Sun’s corona, just 3.8 million miles above the Sun’s surface and at a top speed of close to 430,000 mph, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery and space exploration.

“This award is a recognition of the unrelenting dedication and hard work of the Parker Solar Probe team. I am so proud of this team and honored to have been a part of it,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By studying the Sun closer than ever before, we continue to advance our understanding of not only our closest star, but also stars across our universe. Parker Solar Probe's historic close approaches to the Sun are a testament to the incredible engineering that made this record-breaking journey possible."

Three novel aerospace technology advancements were critical to enabling this record performance: The first is the Thermal Protection System, or heat shield, that protects the spacecraft and is built to withstand brutal temperatures as high as 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The Thermal Protection System allows Parker’s electronics and instruments to operate close to room temperature. . . .

Now you know. What a remarkable time to be alive -- and gazing up into the clear night skies! Onward.

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