Will Fly Aboard The Parker Solar Probe Scheduled For Launch This Summer.

U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) has submitted the names of all committee members and staff to be placed aboard the Parker Solar Probe, a “mission to touch the Sun,” that will launch this summer. NASA opened to the public this spring an opportunity to submit names that will be stored on a memory card and installed on the probe before it launches.

"When NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launches and begins its long journey to the sun this summer, it will have on board the names of the Science Committee members, personal office staff and committee staff," said Chairman Smith. "This probe is the first of its kind and will provide the closest observations of the Sun that humankind has ever achieved.

“We all take our responsibilities on the Science Committee seriously, and when I came across NASA’s unique offer, I thought this would be a perfect and light-hearted opportunity to carve the names of the members and staff in history. Who knows—maybe each of these names will be etched on the sun!”

Each individual received a certificate memorializing the inclusion of their name on the probe’s microchip. NASA announced that the probe will carry over 1.1 million names.

The launch window for the Parker Solar Probe is from July 31 to August 19, 2018. It will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Delta IV-heavy rocket.

At its closest approach to the Sun, the front of Parker Solar Probe's solar shield faces temperatures approaching 2,500 F. The spacecraft's payload will be near room temperature.

On its final three orbits, the spacecraft will fly to within 3.8 million miles of the Sun's surface – more than seven times closer than the current record-holder for a close solar pass. In 1976, the Helios 2 spacecraft came within 27 million miles. The approach will be more than 10 times closer than Mercury, which is about 42 million miles from the Sun.

(Source: House Science Committee news release and NASA mission information. Image provided by NASA)

FMI: science.house.gov, www.nasa.gov