The Challenge

On April 28, 2021, during its eighth flyby of the Sun, Parker Solar Probe did what no
other human-made object has ever done: it “touched” the Sun—meaning the spacecraft
flew through the Sun’s upper atmosphere (the corona) and sampled particles and
magnetic fields there. Your challenge is to develop a creative way to tell young
audiences the inspiring story of Parker’s record-breaking journey from Earth to the
Sun and all the perils it overcame on the way.

Background

Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 to explore the mysteries of the Sun by traveling closer to
it than any spacecraft before. Three years after launch and decades after its conception, Parker
finally arrived.

Unlike Earth, the Sun doesn’t have a solid surface. But it does have a superheated atmosphere
made of solar material bound to the Sun by gravity and magnetic forces. As rising heat and
pressure push that material away from the Sun, there is a point in space where gravity and
magnetic fields are too weak to contain it.

That point, known as the Alfvén critical surface, marks the end of the solar atmosphere and the
beginning of the solar wind. Solar material with the energy to make it across that boundary
becomes the solar wind, which drags the magnetic field of the Sun with it as it races across the
solar system to Earth and beyond.

Until now, researchers were unsure exactly where the Alfvén critical surface lay. Based on
remote images of the corona, estimates had put it somewhere between 10 to 20 solar radii (4.3
to 8.6 million miles) from the surface of the Sun. Parker’s spiral trajectory brings it slowly
closer to the Sun and during its previous few passes, the spacecraft was consistently below 20
solar radii (91 percent of Earth’s distance from the Sun), putting it in the position to cross the
boundary – assuming the estimates were correct.

On April 28, 2021, during its eighth flyby of the Sun, Parker Solar Probe encountered the
specific magnetic and particle conditions at 18.8 solar radii (around 8.1 million miles) above
the solar surface that told scientists it had crossed the Alfvén critical surface for the first time
and finally entered the solar atmosphere to “touch the Sun.”
Objectives

Your challenge is to develop a creative way to tell young audiences the story of how Parker
Solar Probe became the first human-made object to enter the Sun’s atmosphere—including all
the dangers Parker Solar Probe encountered and overcame on its way to the Sun and what
lessons we could learn from Parker’s journey.

You may use any medium you would like to tell the story including original poetry or spoken
word, song lyrics, a short story, a comic strip, a board or video game, interpretive monologue,
etc.

Think about how your story can include:

 A clear plot (beginning, middle, and end)

 Character conflict (How does the character struggle with something? For example, the
struggle can be with itself, another being, nature or natural forces, technology, etc.)
 Simple explanations of space weather phenomena that Parker encounters on its journey
—including extreme temperatures, dust, the solar wind, and solar storms—and how
these phenomena can impact life on Earth.
 Parker Solar Probe’s interactions with Venus (gravity assists).

How can you educate and excite young audiences about this remarkable record-setting
mission?

Potential Considerations

As you design your project, you may (but are not required to) consider the following:

 Other phenomena created by the Sun, such as eclipses and aurora.

 The design of Parker Solar Probe’s heat shield.
 Parker Solar Probe’s records – fastest human-made object and first human-made object
to touch the Sun.
 What we’ve learned about Venus from Parker Solar Probe.
 Earth’s upper atmosphere (ionosphere) – where the International Space Station orbits.
 Earth’s magnetosphere – created by the Earth’s core and protects us from the Sun.
 Lagrange Point 1 (L1) – the place between Earth and the Sun where the gravitational
pull of the two large objects precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small
object to move with them.
Goals:

- Study the Sun; only star we can study up close and its aspects of the Sun-Earth system
that directly affect life on Earth
- Trace the flow of Energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona & wind.
- Determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources
of the solar wind.
- Explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles

Do you know why it is important to study the Sun?

- It is the closest star that affects life on earth including weather changes, and by studying
it, studying about the Sun opens many doors towards learning more about the other,
further stars!