NASA Launching Spacecraft Into the Sun

[JMcEntegart]

We know a lot about the sun, but there's a lot NASA doesn't know and the Space Agency is aiming to fill in some of the gaps with a multi-million dollar mission that will see a probe launched into the star.

NASA Launching Spacecraft Into the Sun : Read more

 

[nightcrawl3r]

Very interesting.

 

[the_krasno]

Well, solar power is not going to be an issue there! I hope they find out those things. It's not really useful to us, but it's interesting. Curiosity, not money, should be the drive for a scientific mind!

 

[Pyroflea]

Very interesting. Makes me wonder what materials they plan on building this craft out of, as temperatures in that vicinity are tremendous.

 

[extremepcs]

When I read the headline I was thinking it would arrive at the sun in December of 2012... LOL

 

[el_samky]

jajaja waiting 2018!! I wanna know too...is interesting.-

 

[jomofro39]

This is very interesting.
"A Recession! Nonsense! This is NASA, let's throw something that costs a billion dollars into the sun."

 

[sacre]

"Unmanned Spacecraft" Well damn I hope so, If I heard the opposite than this story would be a hell of a lot more interesting.

 

[JamesSneed]

By 2018 it it will have a force field driven by solar power to protect the probe.

 

[Haserath]

Yes, the sun is very hot. Is that all you needed to know
[citation][nom]extremepcs[/nom]When I read the headline I was thinking it would arrive at the sun in December of 2012... LOL[/citation]
Ah yes, the sun exploding on December 2012 from NASA's spacecraft, what a way to go.

 

[kcorp2003]

imagine if that spacecraft crash into the sun and then started a chain reaction to explode the sun? OH NO!! i hope that won't be the case. besides do we really have have a metal that won't melt at those extreme temperatures at close to the sun atmosphere? wow. Looks like "The Core" movie is coming to reality

 

[oxxfatelostxxo]

2700 degress.. im going to assume it just has a very high tech cooling system built in, as the electronics inside wouldnt do well., cooling solves all...

And crash into the sun?.., um.. it wont even get within 100miles of the sun before being completly destroyed..

 

[cadder]

The sun will destroy the probe before it can send back meaningful data, that is unless they send it at night.

 

[geof2001]

[citation][nom]cadder[/nom]The sun will destroy the probe before it can send back meaningful data, that is unless they send it at night.[/citation]

Oh yeah maybe they should launch it from Alaska in the off season so they'll have close to 6 months of darkness huh....

 

[random_guy417]

The sun will destroy the probe before it can send back meaningful data, that is unless they send it at night.

There will be no night for the probe. The sun is always on. Night is a result of Earth spinning on its axis. Half of Earth is in day while the other half is in night.

 

[Guest]

Pyroflea, there are many materials that can easily withstand 2600F. That's almost 1500C. Refractory metals such as tantalum, tungsten, molybdenum all have melting points close to 3000C. Ceramics such as alumina are in the 2000C range. Radiation shields can be made from moly as it is also a very good thermal conductor (to send heat to the extreme cold side) and can be made very shiny for low emissivity.

Thermal expansion might be tricky, but it's all doable. I design sample manipulators for vacuum use to operate between 4 and 350 Kelvin, and it all holds together. Sometimes the samples are heated to 1200C. It's just a matter of picking the correct thermal masses and thermal resistances to keep things from cracking or melting. Easy? No. Rocket science? Well sort of I guess, but not overly complicated from a thermal analysis.

This is the kind of stuff that when they test, they'll learn much about and eventually the technology will trickle down to everyday items. Some new materials may be developed or material behaviors discovered by accident - good stuff.

 

[lakelucid]

Let's hope the sun won't get mad for us hitting him in the face.

 

[one-shot]

[citation][nom]cadder[/nom]The sun will destroy the probe before it can send back meaningful data, that is unless they send it at night.[/citation]

Oh really now? Do you have access to the sun's switch? If so, just tell us what turns it on so we can save the trip to the sun.

 

[Guest]

With that kind of heat, I think the probe will RROD...

 

[FloKid]

Didn't this happen 10 years ago? : )