### Parker Solar Probe Prepares for Historic Venus Flyby and Unprecedented Close Encounter with the Sun

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is gearing up for a critical Venus flyby on November 6, 2024. This maneuver will bring the spacecraft within 233 miles (376 km) of Venus' surface, setting up its trajectory to approach within a stunning 3.86 million miles of the solar surface by December 24, 2024. This will mark the closest any human-made object has ever been to the Sun.

The upcoming Venus flyby represents more than just a navigational aid for Parker—it provides an unexpected scientific opportunity. During a previous Venus flyby on July 11, 2020, Parker's Wide-Field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) was oriented towards Venus. The instrument, designed to monitor the solar wind, captured surprising images that appeared to penetrate Venus' thick cloud cover and reveal its hot surface, radiating at around 869 degrees Fahrenheit (465°C).

The data from WISPR's encounter in 2020 and a subsequent flyby in 2021 have presented Venus' surface in new detail but also raised numerous questions. Scientists aim to resolve these questions during the upcoming November 6 flyby, examining whether WISPR can differentiate between various physical and chemical properties on Venus' surface. Some regions in the WISPR data appear brighter than expected, suggesting the possibility of chemical variances or perhaps more recent lava flows.

"This flyby will give us more context to evaluate WISPR’s capability to distinguish surface characteristics on Venus," said Noam Izenberg, a space scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. By comparing these findings with data from the Magellan spacecraft, which mapped Venus using radar in the early 1990s, researchers hope to deepen their understanding of Venusian geology.

The ultimate thrill for the Parker Solar Probe, however, comes in December. The spacecraft will execute its closest approach to the Sun on December 24, 2024. This perihelion event will propel Parker into an environment rich with unexplored solar phenomena, including plumes of plasma and potentially passing through solar eruptions.

Adam Szabo, project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, emphasized the engineering feat that this mission represents. During its closest approach, mission control will temporarily lose contact with the probe, awaiting a beacon tone on December 27, 2024, to confirm the spacecraft’s status and health. Parker will maintain this close orbit for the remainder of its mission, with two additional perihelion passes to follow.

As Parker Solar Probe narrows the gap with our star, the data it gathers promise to shed unprecedented light on solar activities, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of the Sun.