Closest approach to the Sun by a spacecraft

The closest approach to the Sun by a spacecraft is 6,167,590 km (3,832,362 mi), which was achieved by the Parker Solar Probe at 11:53:48 UTC on 24 December 2024. At the time of perihelion, the Parker Solar Probe was traveling at 192.22 km/sec (692,000 km/h; 430,000 mph) relative to the Sun. The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA mission operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (USA).

The Parker Solar Probe was designed to operate in a highly elliptical orbit that periodically intersects with the orbit of the planet Venus. Around once a year since its launch in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe has made a close fly-by of the planet, passing as little as 317 km (197 mi) from its surface. These close approaches are made so Venus's gravitational pull can bleed off some more of the spacecraft's speed and tighten its orbit around the Sun.

The Parker Solar Probe made its final Venus gravity-assist pass on 6 November 2024, lowering its aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) to less than the distance between the Sun and Venus. This means it can no longer reach Venus to shorten its orbit any further.

The Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to make another four dives through the Sun's corona ending in December 2025. After that it will continue to operate in the same orbit until either the mission is formally ended or the spacecraft runs out of fuel for its thrusters. At that point it will be turned around so that its unshielded instruments are facing directly into the Sun, and the probe will burn up.