{"id":190902,"date":"2025-03-26T05:01:31","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T19:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/heliophysics\/nasas-parker-solar-probe-team-wins-2024-collier-trophy\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T05:01:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T19:01:31","slug":"nasas-parker-solar-probe-team-wins-2024-collier-trophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=190902","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe Team Wins 2024 Collier Trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The innovative team of engineers and scientists from NASA, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and more than 40 other partner organizations across the country that created the Parker Solar Probe<\/a> mission has been awarded the 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA). This annual award recognizes the most exceptional achievement in aeronautics and astronautics in America with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles in the previous year. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to the entire Parker Solar Probe team for this well-earned recognition,\u201d said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. \u201cThis mission\u2019s trailblazing research is rewriting the textbooks on solar science by going to a place no human-made object has ever been and advancing NASA\u2019s efforts to better understand our solar system and the Sun\u2019s influence, with lasting benefits for us all. As the first to touch the Sun and fastest human-made object ever built, Parker Solar Probe is a testament to human ingenuity and discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"NASA's<\/a><\/figure>
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An artist\u2019s concept of NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe.<\/div>\n
NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On Dec. 24, 2024<\/a>, Parker Solar Probe made its closest approach to the Sun, passing deep within the Sun\u2019s corona, just 3.8 million miles above the Sun\u2019s surface and at a top speed of close to 430,000 mph, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery and space exploration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cBy 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\u2019s historic close approaches to the Sun are a testament to the incredible engineering that made this record-breaking journey possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s electronics and instruments to operate close to room temperature.<\/p>\n

Additional Parker innovations included first-of-their-kind actively cooled solar arrays that protect themselves from overexposure to intense solar energy while powering the spacecraft, and a fully autonomous spacecraft system that can manage its own flight behavior, orientation, and configuration for months at a time. Parker has relied upon all of these vital technologies every day since its launch almost seven years ago, in August 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled for the Parker Solar Probe team on receiving this well-deserved award,\u201d said Joe Westlake, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. \u201cThe new information about the Sun made available through this mission will improve our ability to prepare for space weather events across the solar system, as well as better understand the very star that makes life possible for us on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parker\u2019s close-up observations of solar events, such as coronal mass ejections and solar particle events, are critical to advancing our understanding of the science of our Sun and the phenomena that drive high-energy space weather events that pose risks to satellites, air travel, astronauts, and even power grids on Earth. Understanding the fundamental physics behind events which drive space weather will enable more reliable predictions and lower astronaut exposure to hazardous radiation during future deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis amazing team brought to life an incredibly difficult space science mission that had been studied, and determined to be impossible, for more than 60 years. They did so by solving numerous long-standing technology challenges and dramatically advancing our nation\u2019s spaceflight capabilities,\u201d said APL Director Ralph Semmel. \u201cThe Collier Trophy is well-earned recognition for this phenomenal group of innovators from NASA, APL, and our industry and research partners from across the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

First awarded in 1911, the Robert J. Collier Trophy winner is selected by a group of aviation leaders chosen by the NAA. The Collier Trophy is housed in the Smithsonian\u2019s National Air and Space Museum in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraveling three times closer to the Sun and seven times faster than any spacecraft before, Parker\u2019s technology innovations enabled humanity to reach inside the Sun\u2019s atmosphere for the first time,\u201d said Bobby Braun, head of APL\u2019s Space Exploration Sector. \u201cWe are all immensely proud that the Parker Solar Probe team will join a long legacy of prestigious aerospace endeavors that redefined technology and changed history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Parker Solar Probe team\u2019s achievement in earning the 2024 Collier is a shining example of determination, genius, and teamwork,\u201d said NAA President and CEO Amy Spowart. \u201cIt\u2019s a distinct honor for the NAA to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable team that turned the impossible into reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parker Solar Probe was developed as part of NASA\u2019s Living With a Star program to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. The Living With a Star program is managed by the agency\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed, built, and operates the spacecraft and manages the mission for NASA.<\/p>\n

By Geoff Brown<\/strong>
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory<\/strong><\/p>\n

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