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90 million miles from Earth

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faster than anything ever made

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a spacecraft
plunges into our sun.

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This tiny craft
no bigger than a car

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faces a star

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a million times
the size of our planet.

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Once deemed mission impossible

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the probe needs astonishing
new technology to survive.

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Its mission

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to solve the mysteries
of our awesome star.

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It's the first time
we've ever gone

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this close to the sun.
It's been an engineering feat

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to actually get there
and not melt.

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New data will help
warn of the dangers

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of electromagnetic explosions
from the sun.

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Solar storms can cause blackouts
over large parts of the world.

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Nothing from Earth
has ever been this close

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to our star before.

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It is unchartered territory

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and Parker Solar Probe
is blazing her way through there.

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It's a mission
60 years in the planning.

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Now, finally,
we are touching the sun.

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Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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NASA are going where no mission
has gone before.

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They're heading to the sun.

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The rocket has
been at the launch pad

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awaiting the arrival
of Parker Solar Probe.

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She's buttoned up,
looking beautiful, ready to go.

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In charge of the science
for the $1.5 billion mission

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is project scientist, Nicky Fox.

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The mission is inspiring.

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It is a voyage of discovery.

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We're going to the last region
of the solar system

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really to be explored
by a spacecraft.

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It's like discovering
a new continent.

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We've sent spacecraft

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to all of the major regions
of our solar system.

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It's one small step for man

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one giant leap for mankind.

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But we've never gone

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into the centre
of the solar system.

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It is unchartered territory.

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So there is a lot of pressure
to be perfect

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for that 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

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lift off moment.

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The Delta IV Heavy
America's largest rocket

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launches
50,000 pound spy satellites

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into orbit around the Earth.

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The tiny Parker Solar Probe

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weighs a mere 1,500 pounds.

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But it needs the might
of this powerful launch

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to gain the speed necessary

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to travel the 90 million miles
to its target

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our sun.

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The sun sustains
all life on Earth.

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The whole solar system

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created by its massive presence.

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You could line up 109 Earths

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across the face of the sun

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and pack a million
and more Earths

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inside it.

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So large
it would take a jet plane

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nearly six months
to circumnavigate the sun.

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At its heart,
a giant nuclear fusion reactor

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crushing atoms together

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and generating

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27 million degree temperatures.

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Around that

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a vast ball
of super-heated plasma

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an electrically charged cloud

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created when atoms are torn apart
by heat and pressure

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beyond our understanding.

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This awesome power of the sun

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constantly changes

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which is why it's studied 24/7

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here at NASA's Goddard
Space Weather Research Centre.

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Real images of the sun
like these

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are filmed
by NASA's solar observatories

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in orbit around the Earth.

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When you step outside
of the atmosphere

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with a camera in space

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we find the sun
is so much more interesting.

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It's this explosive environment

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that is seething with energy

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magnetic and electric fields
are moving around.

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It's ever changing.

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This is what's so amazing,
is to see how incredibly dynamic

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the sun is.

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Dynamic and racked with
gigantic explosions

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hurling radiation and particles
towards the Earth.

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You see lots of little flashes.

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These little things
are many times

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the size of the United States
for example.

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They're huge
and there are massive amounts

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of energy being released.
It's mind boggling.

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All that dynamic energy
can occasionally

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throw out these huge solar storms

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these blasts of material

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that can slam into the Earth

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they shake
the Earth's magnetic field.

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So this is one of the reasons

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why we focus so much
on what's happening on the sun.

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On Earth,
we're blissfully unaware

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of these massive explosions

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many millions of miles away
in space.

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Few people alive today

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have ever felt the impact
of a major eruption on the sun.

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But 159 years ago

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the biggest sun explosion
we have ever known

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causes chaos on Earth.

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September 1, 1859.

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English astronomer,
Richard Carrington

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draws images of sun spots

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projected through a telescope
at his home

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in the English village
of Redhill.

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All around the world back then

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people were watching
the surface of the sun.

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And every day
Carrington would sit down

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in his observatory,
which was a telescope

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he had in his house.

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And he would look at the sun
and project the sun down

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and he'd make a sketch
of this active region.

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By cosmic coincidence,
as he was sitting there

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making a sketch one day

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one of the largest solar flares
on record occurred.

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Carrington was actually
able to see

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bright pricks of light appear

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on his sketch pad

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because the flare was so intense

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in visible light,
it actually caused

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bright points
to appear on the solar surface.

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Carrington's drawing

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records the largest flare
ever known

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from that day to this.

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It's the first indication
for scientists

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that storms on the sun

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can devastate
our technology on Earth.

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What's amazing
is then what follows.

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About 18 hours later
all hell breaks loose on Earth.

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Telegraph wires start sparking
and catching on fire

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compasses start wriggling around.

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It was enormous.

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It was so big,
it made what we call

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a geomagnetic storm
which is one of these storms

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where it deforms
Earth's magnetic field

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and puts all of this energy
into the radiation belt.

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The Aurora Borealis,
the northern lights are seen

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all the way down to Cuba.

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Places of the world

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where people
had never seen aurora before.

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Places like Australia,
Great Britain

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and even Florida
could have seen the aurora.

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The geomagnetic storm

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that spreads chaos
across the globe

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is now known by scientists
as the Carrington event.

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In 1859

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the newly invented
telegraph machine

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is the only method
of long distance communication.

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Electromagnetic particles
bombarding Earth

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from the huge solar flare

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have serious consequences

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wrecking communications.

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So in 1859,
the loss of the telegraph system

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for four days, that doesn't seem
that significant

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when we thing about that today.

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But if you imagine the loss of
all electronic communication

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all power grids

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for days, weeks, months

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it is a huge, huge impact
on life and society.

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Some estimates say
that if were to happen today

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and we didn't have
enough advance warning

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to power down our power grids

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you could lose
all the transformers

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on the East and West coast
of the United States.

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It could take years,
maybe even decades

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to restore power
to the coasts.

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Imagine losing the internet now.

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National panic would ensue.

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You lose GPS potentially.

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A lot of us depend on GPS
for things like logistics.

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Most major cities in the world

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only have enough food
for about 12 hours

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so if you don't have
a logistics network operating

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you can't supply
all the people in the city.

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When a hurricane strikes

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there's an earthquake,
what do we do?

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People leave the city

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they take refuge
in another city nearby.

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You don't necessarily
have that option

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if we have a Earth level
Carrington event.

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If you lose
the entire seaboard

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and there's nowhere to go
to recover.

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No one knows
when a Carrington level event

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will happen again.

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It could happen right now.

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So imagine now if we had one of
those major events.

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It would be pretty bad
so we need to mitigate

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the effects of this.

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Mitigating the effects
requires earlier warnings

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of solar bombardments.

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And for that,
we need scientific data

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we can only get
by going to the sun

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so that's what we're doing.

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10, 9, 8

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7, 6, 5

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00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,560
4, 3, 2, 1

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00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,640
August 12, 2018.

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00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,640
In the early hours of the morning

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00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,360
Parker Solar Probe
is ready for lift off.

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00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,440
There's a tremendous
amount of excitement in the team

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00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:35,120
waiting for this launch.

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00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,560
We are so connected
with this spacecraft.

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We've watched her grow up

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in front of us for many years.

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00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,080
To us, she is a person

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00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:46,560
she's a part of the team.

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00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,360
She is the one
that's going on the voyage

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00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,560
and going to make
these amazing discoveries.

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Status check to pursue
with terminal count.

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Go. - Hydraulics.
- Go.

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00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,320
Vox.
- Go.

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00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,280
The launch is probably

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00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,600
the most dangerous part
of the mission.

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00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:06,080
You're sitting on top

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00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:10,040
of a tremendous set of tanks
of explosives.

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00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:11,960
It's a controlled explosion.

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00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,040
If you lose control
in the slightest way

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that's it. It's all over.
- 9

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00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:20,360
8, 7, 6

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00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,600
5, 4, 3

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00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,440
2, 1, 0.

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00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,200
Lift off, of the mighty
Delta IV Heavy Rocket

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00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,400
with NASA's Parker Solar Probe.

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00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,080
A daring mission to shed light
on the mysteries

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00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,240
of our closest star, the sun.

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It was just like
she was ready to go

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00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,040
and so I think
for the first time in months

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00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:45,440
I was actually speechless

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00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,840
watching
that beautiful sight of her

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00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:49,760
lighting up the sky.
- Tower clear.

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00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:52,880
Now 10 seconds into flight.

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00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,120
Even though we're a few miles
away from the rocket

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00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:01,520
the noise from the launch
is so intense

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00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:03,640
you can feel it
rattling in your chest.

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00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:12,280
Those two side boosters
are going at full throttle.

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00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,360
As they start to burn out
they drop away

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00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:16,600
and the centre one

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00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,800
takes over as the main lift body.

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00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,520
92 miles high
above the Caribbean

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00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:29,680
the nose cone splits apart.

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00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:34,960
Scores of scientists
and engineers

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00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,240
in four different
mission control rooms

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00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,840
around the country
follow every second

254
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,560
of the Parker Probe's progress.

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00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:44,680
And 30 minutes later

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00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,560
the second stage separates.

257
00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:52,520
The Parker Probe

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00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,120
is finally leaving the Earth.

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00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,000
There are so many
different feelings

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00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,200
kind of jumbled up in my head
at the same time.

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00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,400
The pride, the sheer spectacle

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00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,520
but also separation anxiety.

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00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,480
That's my baby
and she's left the planet.

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00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:20,120
I hope she writes every day

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00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:21,640
and tells us
all the wonderful data

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00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:22,680
she's taking.

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00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:30,960
The Parker Probe's full mission

268
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:32,720
will last seven years.

269
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,520
One of the most complex
navigational challenges

270
00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,480
ever undertaken in space.

271
00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,000
24 orbits,
each one taking the probe

272
00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:45,960
closer and closer
to the corona of our star.

273
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,160
But this mapped out route

274
00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:49,720
has a crucial first step.

275
00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,000
A fly-by of Venus

276
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,360
using the planet's gravity
for a handbrake turn

277
00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,240
to aim Parker in towards the sun.

278
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:01,880
There's little room for error.

279
00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:03,320
To aim at Venus

280
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,440
the probe must fire
its last engine

281
00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,000
precisely on time.

282
00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,880
That's when we get
most of the speed

283
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:13,400
and if we miss Venus

284
00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:14,960
it will destroy
the entire mission.

285
00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:16,760
We won't get the orbit
that we want.

286
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,480
Except Venus is a moving target.

287
00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,160
And so,
we can't aim it where Venus is

288
00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,920
we have to aim it where Venus
is going to be in weeks

289
00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:32,520
when we finally get there.

290
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:37,320
So it's sort of like a sniper.

291
00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:44,400
If you had a sniper
aiming at a target

292
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,200
that was a thousand yards away

293
00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:50,000
he'd have to aim very precisely
to hit that target.

294
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:57,880
But Venus is a moving target

295
00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,840
and that comes
with its own set of problems.

296
00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,960
A bullet travels
at about 2,000 feet per second.

297
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:11,800
So it takes almost two seconds

298
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:13,800
to travel that thousand yards.

299
00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,360
The sniper would need to aim
at the exact point

300
00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,520
where the target will be
two seconds into the future.

301
00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,080
Even for a mere thousand yards

302
00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,400
the calculations
need to be precise.

303
00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,640
Over 32 million miles

304
00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,400
and at 50 times
the speed of a bullet

305
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,000
the team at NASA
have an even more difficult task

306
00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:51,280
on their hands.

307
00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:58,280
To aim in the right direction

308
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,280
the probe has one last engine

309
00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,280
on the third stage of the rocket

310
00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,040
and it should be firing
right now.

311
00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:07,920
The third stage
is a solid rocket motor

312
00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:09,920
that fires once
and then it's done.

313
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,560
And so we've got to get it right.

314
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,240
We've only got one opportunity.

315
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,760
Mission Control follows
every moment of the flight

316
00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:22,520
by receiving radio signals
from the probe

317
00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:24,880
called telemetry signals.

318
00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,000
But now, there's a problem.

319
00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,640
Seeing some telemetry drop outs
from the third stage.

320
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:34,840
Should have expected to see
spacecraft separation

321
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:36,080
within the last minute.

322
00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,440
Telemetry from the spacecraft

323
00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:41,840
its only means of communicating
with Mission Control

324
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:43,080
has failed.

325
00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,200
There's nothing they can do,
but wait.

326
00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,360
No one is sure
if NASA's Parker Solar Probe

327
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,160
is in trouble or not

328
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,360
because it's no longer talking
to Mission Control.

329
00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,520
Seeing some telemetry drop outs
from the third stage.

330
00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:04,800
Telemetry,
the readings its instruments

331
00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:06,200
should be transmitting to Earth

332
00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:08,680
are failing
to reach Mission Control.

333
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,160
Frustration,
for scientists and engineers

334
00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:13,480
desperate to confirm

335
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,800
that the final rocket burn
has happened.

336
00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:18,760
Should have expected to see
spacecraft separation

337
00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,360
within the last minute.
Difficult to make calls.

338
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,320
All those on the ground can see

339
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,840
is a NASA live television feed

340
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:29,680
a pre-prepared animation

341
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,200
of what should be happening
in space.

342
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:36,400
And with no confirmation

343
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:41,000
this NASA picture could be
just an expensive cartoon.

344
00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:43,600
And if something's wrong

345
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:45,920
there's no way of fixing it.

346
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:48,760
This is not
the Hubble space telescope.

347
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:52,320
Whatever happens after launch,
that's it.

348
00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:01,200
If it's a serious error,
the mission will fail.

349
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:03,360
But moments later..

350
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:05,760
And we've been informed
that the third stage

351
00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,520
is providing data
to a ground station.

352
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,560
Telemetry is reacquired.

353
00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,920
The Parker Probe's signal
is being picked up

354
00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:17,640
by a receiving station

355
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,560
confirming that last final burn.

356
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,000
We've had confirmation
of spacecraft separation.

357
00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:30,080
With the final engine separated

358
00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,240
Parker Probe
is now safely on route

359
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:34,480
to Venus.

360
00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,680
This voyage to the sun
was top of the wish list

361
00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,560
of space exploration drawn up

362
00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,440
when NASA was created
in the 1950s.

363
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:03,400
Other missions to Mars

364
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,520
Saturn,
even Pluto have been successful.

365
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,000
Only the sun
remains so unexplored.

366
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:11,800
Their final frontier.

367
00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,200
The vital importance
of visiting the sun

368
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,120
is highlighted back then

369
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,240
by young scientist,
Dr. Eugene Parker.

370
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:24,680
He discovers the solar wind.

371
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:28,720
Streams of electrically charged
nuclear particles

372
00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,160
blasting out from the sun
in all directions.

373
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,040
Parker's mathematical theory

374
00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,080
shows that the wind
envelops the Earth.

375
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,080
A potentially
fatal danger to astronauts

376
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,240
outside of our planet's
protective shield.

377
00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,960
Back in the '50s,
Parker's ideas

378
00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:52,440
are so revolutionary,
many disbelieve him.

379
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,440
I remember how upset
some people were.

380
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,160
They insisted
I made a mathematical error

381
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,480
and I would reply,
well, here you are.

382
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,480
Here is five lines of algebra

383
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,240
and you say I made a mistake?
Show me.

384
00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,480
The danger Parker discovered
grows even greater

385
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,320
when solar flares
or other eruptions

386
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,640
pump up the blast
of deadly radiation.

387
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,600
Astronauts landing on the moon
were at risk

388
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,360
but they were exposed
for just a few days.

389
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:32,320
Now manned missions to Mars

390
00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:34,200
are high on NASA's agenda.

391
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:36,320
Even inside their spaceships

392
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,040
future Mars mariners
run the risk

393
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:40,760
of radiation poisoning.

394
00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:45,280
Minus 15.

395
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:50,560
NASA realizes
we must go to the sun.

396
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:56,880
But for 50 years

397
00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,480
they just can't do it.

398
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,760
At first, the findings were,
it's impossible.

399
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,240
It can't be done.
We just don't have the technology

400
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:05,800
with the melt
we couldn't get there.

401
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,160
Finally, in the mid-2000s

402
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:09,720
all this technology came together

403
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:11,200
sand we figured out
that we could actually

404
00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:12,840
build a solar probe and fly it.

405
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:24,600
It's not surprising
that reaching the sun

406
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,680
is for so long
considered mission impossible.

407
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,640
We view our star

408
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:32,640
with awe and reverence.

409
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,320
To us,
it's a solid presence in our sky

410
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:45,200
but in reality,
there is no solid surface.

411
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,080
Just plasma
and countless beams of light

412
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,640
bursting out
from its nuclear core.

413
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,960
Above is the sun's atmosphere,
the corona.

414
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,600
A shimmering cloud only seen
as a ring around the sun

415
00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:00,320
when there's a total eclipse.

416
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,520
Or in images like these

417
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,480
taken by NASAs
specialised telescopes.

418
00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,000
Within that corona
is a scientific mystery

419
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,880
which Parker Probe
may help to explain.

420
00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:17,080
The corona's outer edges

421
00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:19,640
furthest from the heat
of the nuclear core

422
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,520
are hotter than the surface
of the sun

423
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,680
which weirdly defies
the known laws of physics.

424
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:32,960
The visible surface
that we're used to

425
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,320
that yellow ball is about

426
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,880
6,000-7,000
degrees centigrade.

427
00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,280
But when you move away
from the surface of the sun

428
00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:46,640
into the outer atmosphere,
what we call the corona

429
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,600
it's actually
millions of degrees.

430
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:50,920
It's crazy.

431
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,120
You could think about

432
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,600
if I step away from a camp fire,
it gets colder as I walk away

433
00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:58,040
but the sun doesn't do that.

434
00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,520
Instead
when your campfire is the sun

435
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:03,800
step away from the heat

436
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,120
and you get hotter
than ever before.

437
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,120
It is to solve that mystery

438
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,440
and discover
how the furnace heat of the sun

439
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:15,200
powers dangerous rays towards us

440
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,880
that the Parker Probe
must now reach its target.

441
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,800
The spacecraft
is packed with a vast array

442
00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,360
of scientific instruments.

443
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,280
The only question now

444
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:31,440
can the Parker Probe deliver them

445
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,160
safely to where they are needed?

446
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,600
Parker Solar Probe
is blasting towards Venus

447
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,600
at an astonishing
68,000 miles an hour.

448
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:49,560
Drive that fast in the USA

449
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:51,880
and coast to coast America
is easy.

450
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,200
New York to L.A.
in around two and a half minutes.

451
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:00,600
And as the speed picks up

452
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,120
they need to make sure
their instruments are working.

453
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:05,480
If something goes wrong

454
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,680
it probably
went wrong during launch

455
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:09,280
you know, something shorted

456
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,560
something shifted,
something broke.

457
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,200
Unlike your iPhone
or your computer

458
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,240
if there is a problem you cannot,
you know, walk on the street

459
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:20,440
and get it fixed.

460
00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:24,160
One by one the systems switch on

461
00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,000
and send back data.

462
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:29,600
The process takes weeks.

463
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:31,480
There's a lot to check.

464
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:35,240
Parker Solar Probe
is about the size of a car

465
00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,600
but there are a tremendous
number of components

466
00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:40,240
jammed into that.

467
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,520
Antenna captured data
about magnetic fields.

468
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,600
The only camera on board
photographs the solar wind

469
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:49,840
rushing by.

470
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,520
Analysers capture
high speed particles

471
00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:55,520
as they accelerate into space.

472
00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,760
But only one instrument
has the power

473
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,920
to withstand
the full fury of the sun.

474
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,600
The bravest little instrument
on the space craft

475
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,080
the solar probe cup, it is out

476
00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:11,320
it's looking in the full
solar environment

477
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:12,520
and it is measuring

478
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,120
what is coming literally smashing

479
00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:17,040
into the spacecraft from the sun.

480
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,520
Particles from the sun
pour into the solar cup

481
00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:23,840
to be funnelled into detectors

482
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:25,960
measuring their speed
and temperature.

483
00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:28,320
The cup is the creation

484
00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:31,280
of solar scientist,
Justin Kasper.

485
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:34,520
The sun's actually going to be

486
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:36,320
400-500 times brighter

487
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:38,720
at closest approach
than it is at Earth.

488
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:40,440
So any exposed surfaces

489
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,520
like the front
of the solar probe cup

490
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:44,600
are going to get up to
temperatures of maybe

491
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,400
1,500, 1,600 degrees Celsius.

492
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,880
And unfortunately,
I want the solar wind

493
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:51,200
to flow into the instrument

494
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:52,680
so I don't get to put
a cover over it

495
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:54,240
to protect the hardware, right?

496
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:56,840
I have to have it wide open
and staring at the sun.

497
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,800
Building robotic instruments
for space exploration

498
00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:04,280
has been his life's work.

499
00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,600
Got it, hey! All right.

500
00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,280
3, 2, 1. We have ignition.

501
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,080
I was a small child
as a space shuttle program

502
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:22,120
was getting off the ground.

503
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:24,800
We have ignition
of the solid rocket boosters..

504
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:31,880
In the fourth grade,
I and pretty much

505
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,520
every other student
in the United States

506
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:36,720
we assembled in our cafeterias

507
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:38,440
to watch the live broadcast.

508
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:40,320
Sorry, just a sec.

509
00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,680
T-15 seconds.

510
00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:49,880
Well, as you can see I..

511
00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,800
This really impacted me.
- T-10.

512
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,480
We're all going to watch
Challenger take off.

513
00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:57,880
And lift off.

514
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,280
Lift off of the 25th
space shuttle mission

515
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:03,000
and it is clear of the tower.

516
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:06,480
This was the first time
a non-astronaut

517
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,000
actually a teacher
was going to fly up into space.

518
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,040
And as you may know about
60 seconds into the launch.

519
00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:18,480
Disaster.

520
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,480
60 seconds,
velocity 2900 feet per second.

521
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:27,000
And we're all sitting there
in this cafeteria

522
00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,760
you know just..
What's going on?

523
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,960
And that really changed me

524
00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:36,480
that one moment.

525
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,160
Kasper resolves to explore space

526
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:46,200
but in a way that minimises
the risk to human life.

527
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:48,000
Obviously, a major malfunction.

528
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,200
I was just so struck
at how willing these people

529
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,400
were to take this risk
to get into space.

530
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:56,880
I wanted us to continue that

531
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,360
but I felt like for some
of the riskier things we do

532
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,320
we should do this
with robots.

533
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:04,320
So I became deeply interested

534
00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:06,480
and passionate
in robotic space exploration.

535
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,040
I wanted to be part of that.

536
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,400
Kasper works
on his solar cup design

537
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,400
for more than 10 years.

538
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:15,440
He thinks that alloys

539
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,920
of highly heat resistant metals
such as titanium

540
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,080
zirconium,
molybdenum and tungsten

541
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,800
might resist the heat of the sun.

542
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,120
But Kasper's got nowhere
with enough sunlight

543
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,120
to test that theory.

544
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,720
I was lamenting
to a French colleague of mine

545
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:36,880
that I had this,
what I thought was a great idea

546
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:38,040
for an instrument

547
00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:40,480
but I didn't feel like
I could really convince NASA

548
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,240
it would work unless I hit it
with all the sunlight.

549
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:44,800
How am I going to do that?

550
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:49,880
The answer to
Dr. Kasper's question

551
00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:52,760
was hiding in rural France.

552
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:06,040
In the Pyrenees mountain range,
there's a scientific facility

553
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:08,520
that's exactly what he needs.

554
00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,680
The thousands of mirrors
of the solar furnace

555
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,360
reflect and direct
the sun's heat and light

556
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,800
to one parabolic mirror

557
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:23,160
the height of a 13 story building

558
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,160
and onto one single

559
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,080
point of focus.

560
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:32,800
The lab's deputy director

561
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,440
Marianne Balat-Pichelin
tests raw materials

562
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,360
in the suns focused heat.

563
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,280
All the light is concentrated

564
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,640
and you will see the focus
by using some water.

565
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:53,400
In order to see
that the solar flex is very high

566
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,000
we will burn
immediately the wood.

567
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:58,280
So I put at the focus

568
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:01,760
and immediately,
you can see it burns.

569
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:03,920
At the focus we can go

570
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,240
up to 3,500 Celsius.

571
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,840
That's three times
as hot as most volcanic lava.

572
00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,200
More than hot enough
to melt a steel bar.

573
00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:23,120
Tests here convince NASA
that Kasper's solar cup

574
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:25,400
made with heat resistant tungsten

575
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,200
will survive the heat of the sun.

576
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,600
Amazingly, our
colleagues in France

577
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:35,600
helped us do all that testing

578
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,400
and that's how we were able to go

579
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:39,960
from a simple concept

580
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:41,880
to the solar probe cup.

581
00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,080
In Mission Control

582
00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:47,760
early checks of the cup

583
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:49,880
and other instruments on board

584
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,720
show that everything
has survived the launch.

585
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,240
It's a big step
towards mission success

586
00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,280
but now
there's another hurdle looming.

587
00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:01,760
As we fly past the planet, Venus

588
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,120
we will be eclipsed
from the spacecraft

589
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:06,320
so there will be
a short period of time

590
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,600
where we can't hear
from the spacecraft

591
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:10,680
and we just have to wait for her

592
00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:12,520
to pop out
from the other side of Venus.

593
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:15,480
Every time you can't hear from it

594
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,880
I mean, it's like a parent
who's worried about their kid

595
00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:20,720
you know, who hasn't called.

596
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:23,280
You would prefer to be
in contact all the time.

597
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:25,400
You can't,
especially with this mission

598
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:26,560
which is one of the places

599
00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,320
where it's just impossible
to get radio communications.

600
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,440
The probe is reaching Venus.

601
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:35,880
It will be out of radio contact.

602
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:37,760
When it reappears

603
00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,640
the entire mission
depends on one thing.

604
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:42,240
It must hit

605
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,480
its precise trajectory
to the sun.

606
00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:51,320
The Parker Solar Probe

607
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:54,000
has been out of contact
behind Venus.

608
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:57,920
As it re-emerges,
it beams back data

609
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:00,680
showing its navigation
is perfect.

610
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:03,080
It's on course for the sun.

611
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:08,280
This far from Earth,
Mission Control has no way

612
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:10,040
of effecting its destiny.

613
00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:13,800
At some point when you get
close to the sun

614
00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:15,280
you can no longer
talk to the spacecraft.

615
00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:17,640
The sun is a wide band
radio source

616
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:22,000
which means it broadcasts
very loudly on all frequencies

617
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:23,600
and will drown out
the spacecraft.

618
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:26,880
The spacecraft's on its own.

619
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,080
From now on in,
the solar winds get stronger

620
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:33,440
and the danger increases.

621
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,920
She really has to look
after herself on orbit.

622
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:39,960
It takes light
about eight minutes

623
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,120
to travel from the sun
to the Earth

624
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,080
and so you can't joystick
this mission.

625
00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:47,720
If the spacecraft has a problem

626
00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,400
she has to be able
to fix that problem herself.

627
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:55,280
But on Earth, these hazards
are being closely monitored

628
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:57,640
just like meteorologists
who warn us

629
00:33:57,680 --> 00:33:59,360
of storms and hurricanes

630
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,480
NASAs scientists
forecast the space weather

631
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,160
that the sun generates
throughout the solar system.

632
00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:09,480
Their forecasts
reveal what dangers

633
00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:11,840
the sun is sending Parker's way.

634
00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:14,560
We actually do the space
weather forecasting

635
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:16,560
primarily because
we want to protect

636
00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:17,960
NASA robotic missions.

637
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,240
Space weather can cause
different damages

638
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,760
to instrumentation.
It can actually fry them up

639
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,480
and cause them
to pretty much be trash.

640
00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:31,960
Forecast teams like this

641
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,280
not only warn
missions like Parker

642
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:35,800
the dangers from the sun

643
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:38,080
but also warn astronauts

644
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,520
like those on
the international space station.

645
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:45,200
This is radiation, right?

646
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,880
It can harm
the astronaut/the person

647
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,520
if it's not blocked in some way.

648
00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:52,160
It has to have
some kind of protection.

649
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,480
Here
on Earth we are all protected

650
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,480
because we have
the magnetic field of the Earth.

651
00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,480
Outside in space,
that doesn't happen.

652
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,040
Having a mission
that is going to the solar corona

653
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:03,520
is going to help us understand

654
00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:05,720
this kind of activity
in a better way.

655
00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:08,680
It's going to give us
the data that we need

656
00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:10,760
to actually plug it in
into the models

657
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,080
that we use for predictions

658
00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:14,160
so we can do
better forecasting.

659
00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:19,400
Nearing the heat of a star

660
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:23,200
Parker's survival
depends now on one thing.

661
00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,120
Its five-inch thick heat shield.

662
00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,520
The very first feature
that jumps out at you

663
00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:30,880
is our heat shield.

664
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:33,120
It is very critical for us.

665
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,920
It is the thing
that provides the shade

666
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,840
and keeps the main body
of the spacecraft cool.

667
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:40,440
So it's highly important.

668
00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:46,160
This all important heat shield
is the product of 10 years work

669
00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:48,320
by engineer, Betsy Congdon.

670
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:50,760
Betsy is an absolute rock star

671
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,640
and for over a decade,
she has devoted her entire life

672
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,920
to making sure
that our heat shield works.

673
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,320
She lovingly calls
it her eight foot frisbee.

674
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:03,480
At this approach,
we're starting to get hot

675
00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:05,520
and so the heat shield
has to remain

676
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:09,440
between the spacecraft
and the shield at all times

677
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:12,160
so that the shield is protecting
the spacecraft from the sun.

678
00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:14,320
It's basically a sun umbrella.

679
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,840
In true engineering terms

680
00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:20,960
the heat shield
is surprisingly simple.

681
00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:24,600
Behind the shield's
reflective ceramic coating

682
00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,360
are layers of an engineered
carbon composite.

683
00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:31,800
A shield so effective

684
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:34,200
it keeps the probe's
all-important instruments

685
00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:36,600
at their normal
working temperature.

686
00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:41,040
Our heat shields
will experience temperatures

687
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:43,640
of up to 1,400 degrees Celsius.

688
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,120
It provides
such an effective shade

689
00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:48,800
that the main body
of the spacecraft itself

690
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,360
is at about 30 degrees centigrade

691
00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,040
which is a lovely summer's day.

692
00:36:58,080 --> 00:36:59,680
With no guidance from Earth

693
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:01,800
tiny sensors
behind the heat shield

694
00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:04,320
ensure that it constantly adjusts

695
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:07,440
to hide the craft
from the searing heat.

696
00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:09,840
Sunlight hitting any sensor

697
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:12,120
triggers an immediate response.

698
00:37:14,240 --> 00:37:15,440
The spacecraft knows

699
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:17,720
Oh, I might be skewing
a little bit the wrong way

700
00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:19,520
and so it actually
will right itself

701
00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:21,240
without any human in the loop.

702
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,680
So, autonomous system
which basically is..

703
00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,200
It's just working
without us having to do anything.

704
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:28,440
It knows what it needs to do

705
00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:30,200
and it rights itself.

706
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:33,560
Righting itself is something

707
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:35,120
that the probe
is going to have to do

708
00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:37,560
for the next seven years

709
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:41,400
as it swoops around the sun
time after time.

710
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,640
And this vital system
is about to have

711
00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:46,720
its first real live test.

712
00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:49,960
The temperature is rising.

713
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:54,480
The probe is reaching the sun.

714
00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:01,400
The Parker Solar Probe

715
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,600
has travelled a roundabout route
to the sun.

716
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:06,760
From its launch in Florida

717
00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:09,800
it has journeyed
millions of miles to Venus

718
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:11,920
and millions of miles more

719
00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:15,200
to brush the atmosphere
of a star.

720
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:19,680
The hope now is that data

721
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:22,400
gathered by its different suites
of instruments

722
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,120
packed onto and into

723
00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:27,000
every nook and cranny
of the tiny spacecraft

724
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:29,440
will finally help solve

725
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:32,480
the greatest mysteries
of the sun.

726
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:36,120
Flying through the plasma clouds
of the sun's corona

727
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:37,960
will let us better forecast

728
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,640
the potentially dangerous
space weather

729
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,560
that can bring chaos
to our modern society.

730
00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:46,160
And in the future

731
00:38:46,720 --> 00:38:49,280
what we learn today
about our sun

732
00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:51,760
will guide our continuing search

733
00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:54,760
for life elsewhere
in the universe.

734
00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:58,280
Understanding the habitability
of planets

735
00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:00,160
as we're seeing
more and more planets

736
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,640
in the universe
is really important.

737
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:05,400
We know that we have
life on Earth because of the sun.

738
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:07,920
We're in what's called
the habitable zone.

739
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:09,760
We're far enough away
from the sun

740
00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:11,120
that we're not too hot

741
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:13,640
near enough
that there's liquid water here.

742
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:19,560
The sun is our star.

743
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,160
It gives us light,
it gives us heat.

744
00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:25,120
We wouldn't be here
without our star.

745
00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:27,160
But it is just an average star.

746
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:34,160
The same as many other stars
in many other solar systems

747
00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,440
and so by studying our sun

748
00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:39,200
it actually gives us insights
into how stars

749
00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:42,440
all over the galaxy
will actually work.

750
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:45,920
November first, 2018

751
00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:50,000
Parker Solar Probe

752
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:54,040
hits 179,000 miles an hour.

753
00:39:54,720 --> 00:39:57,120
It is now the fastest object

754
00:39:57,160 --> 00:39:59,840
ever made by humankind.

755
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:13,640
It's getting into the region
where the solar wind

756
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:15,480
is still being accelerated
and where the corona

757
00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:16,720
is still being heated.

758
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:18,280
That's what will mean
by touch the sun.

759
00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:24,480
Being this close to a star

760
00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:26,240
is like driving your car

761
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:28,360
into the heart
of a nuclear reactor.

762
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:30,640
Nothing made by man

763
00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:33,760
has ever
braved such dangers before.

764
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:37,160
It's incredibly hot.

765
00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:40,400
The energetic particles
are going to be very extreme.

766
00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,320
Incredibly hostile place.

767
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:47,280
The heat is tremendous.

768
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,200
The temperatures
on the front face

769
00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:51,240
of our carbon heat shield

770
00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:53,760
are up over a thousand degrees.

771
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:56,000
All of our instruments
hide in the shadows

772
00:40:56,280 --> 00:40:59,120
they're still working,
the science, the technology

773
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:00,880
that's gone into getting us there

774
00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:02,680
has been tremendous.

775
00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:09,120
On Earth, we think of light

776
00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:11,400
as pure weightless illumination.

777
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:21,200
This close to the sun

778
00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,360
light hits you
like a hammer blow.

779
00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:29,200
The sheer pressure
of the photons of light

780
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,720
its individual packets of energy

781
00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,800
pushes the probe
with a physical force.

782
00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:41,040
Everything that controls
our solar system

783
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:42,720
is really from the sun

784
00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:45,920
energetic particles,
the light, the solar wind

785
00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:47,360
it all comes from the sun.

786
00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,320
To actually get to touch it
is really amazing.

787
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:52,880
This is the beginning
of rewriting

788
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:54,280
the science text books.

789
00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:58,480
We have successfully
designed a space craft

790
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:01,360
that can survive plunging
into the sun's atmosphere

791
00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:03,560
and that's an incredible
accomplishment.

792
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:09,040
This is the moment
we've been working for

793
00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:10,840
hard all these years.

794
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:14,600
Many, many hours.
Many, many grey hair.

795
00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:16,640
I had no grey hair
when I started this mission.

796
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:19,440
It's not the end of the mission

797
00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:22,680
but on November 5, 2018

798
00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:25,760
at 10:27 pm
Eastern Standard Time

799
00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:29,520
the Parker Probe
reaches its first destination.

800
00:42:30,240 --> 00:42:31,280
A milestone

801
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:34,000
in the human exploration
of space.

802
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:37,360
This is perihelium.

803
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:39,800
The closest humankind

804
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:42,640
has ever been to a star.

805
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:47,240
To be flying through the corona

806
00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,200
for the very first time
is just incredible.

807
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:52,800
It is unchartered territory

808
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:55,720
and Parker Solar Probe
is blazing her way through that.