The U.S. Agency, NASA, has planned to make a new unmanned probe in 2018, to send to the Sun. The probe to be sent by the agency will be independent of any manual operation and contain thermal radiators. These heat tubes will have the ability break through the heat barrier and protect the probe, which is very heat sensitive.
In 2018, NASA plans to make history
The automated robot will be the first ever spacecraft sent to the Sun. The unmanned spacecraft will orbit the sun at a distance of four million miles from the Sun's searing atmosphere. The threat of the probe evaporating from the Sun's severe temperatures is proving to be a challenge for the NASA scientists.
Although NASA has dispatched spacecraft to many different planets and moons, this is their initial attempt of a journey to the Sun.
Extreme heat of the Sun causes challenges
This is not NASA’s first time trying to deal with extreme heat. They attempted to send a robotic probe to Mercury, but the spacecraft became unresponsive quickly after reaching Mercury’s surface. The heat proved to be too violent for the probe, and the spacecraft evaporated. The Sun’s temperature is much more extreme and has the potential to devastate the probe before it even arrives in the Sun’s orbital range.
The scientists at NASA claim that the Sun's surface only reaches a temperature of 5,500 degrees Celsius. They say that this is relatively low.
It is important to note that the solar atmosphere is much hotter: two million degrees Celsius. As we get farther from the Sun's surface, the heat grows exponentially and continues to do so for millions of more miles. Solar flares erupting from the Sun are also violently hot and can send blistering heat millions of miles.
Scientific research and development
The scientists and researchers at NASA are facing this challenge. They are trying to create some material that will be impervious to these sweltering temperatures. Reports have stated that NASA scientists have developed a 1.4 centimeters carbon-composite surface. This shield is said to be able to withstand heats as high as 1,370-degree celsius.
Although this number is impressive, it is not enough. NASA scientists are persistent in pursuing technology for the shield that can protect it from the Sun's extreme heat as well as endure the long journey through the solar atmosphere.
