NASA's Parker Solar Probe has confirmed it’s alive and well!

Two days after its historic Christmas Eve flyby—the closest approach to the sun ever made by a spacecraft—the Parker Solar Probe reconnected with Earth. Late Thursday night (Dec. 26), the car-sized spacecraft sent a simple but eagerly awaited beacon tone, signaling it survived the intense solar encounter.

The probe, which ventured almost 10 times closer to the sun than Mercury, had been out of contact since Dec. 20 when it began its automated maneuver. The signal reassured scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland that the probe is in "good health and operating normally," according to NASA’s update on Dec. 27.

At 6:53 a.m. EST on Christmas Eve, the Parker Solar Probe soared to within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the sun’s surface while traveling at a staggering speed of 430,000 mph (690,000 kph)—setting a new record as the fastest human-made object.

“This is a total ‘Yay! We did it!’ moment,” Nicola Fox, NASA's associate administrator for science missions, said in a Dec. 24 video update.

The spacecraft’s survival during this perilous flyby underscores the ingenuity of its engineering. Its 4.5-inch-thick heat shield can withstand temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,371 degrees Celsius), while an autonomous system ensures the probe remains safely oriented. Even so, it likely endured temperatures nearing 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (980 degrees Celsius) during this close pass.

Scientists eagerly await New Year’s Day (Jan. 1) when the spacecraft is scheduled to send a more detailed status update. This report will confirm whether Parker successfully collected the anticipated solar data during its flyby. Most of the images and science data are expected to arrive later in January, once the probe moves to a safer distance from the sun.

During its latest encounter, Parker likely flew through plumes of plasma still connected to the sun and observed different types of solar winds and storms. Such observations are critical as solar activity intensifies during the current solar cycle, the mission team explained at the recent AGU meeting.

Since its 2018 launch, the Parker Solar Probe has advanced our understanding of the sun, including why the corona—the sun’s outer layer—is significantly hotter than its surface. Along the way, it has also captured rare images of comets and offered insights into Venus’ atmospheric evolution.

As Parker ventures into unexplored regions of the sun, mission scientists like Arik Posner from NASA Headquarters remain enthusiastic. “We can’t wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start analyzing the science data in the coming weeks,” Posner said.

The Parker Solar Probe’s achievements mark a groundbreaking chapter in space exploration, offering humanity an unprecedented glimpse into the heart of our solar system.