The Parker Solar Probe: Firing Sensors into the Sun

[@megaprojects9649]

Get your SPECIAL OFFER for MagellanTV here: try.magellantv.com/MEGAPROJECTS. It's an exclusive offer for our viewers! Start your free trial today. MagellanTV is a new kind of streaming service run by filmmakers with 3,000+ documentaries! Check out our personal recommendation and MagellanTV’s exclusive playlists: www.magellantv.com/explore/history

[@jessemarcus]

A mega project that you might want to have a look at is the St Lawrence Seaway project from 1954 to 1959.

[@johnnsteele2886]

I would love to see a Megaprojects on the Soviet relocation of over 1500 munitions factories out of Nazi reach during Barbarossa.

[@forresthenry9535]

Really?! They couldn’t call it the Icarus probe!

[@timhahn9330]

EDITED at the end: My dna and my signature are on that spacecraft. I was one of the few people on the alignment team that positioned and pointed everything on that spacecraft - including the heat shield. My job was to measure and report the placement of each part to make sure everything was built within tolerance. My crowning achievement was to hand place the 6 mounting features of the heat shield to within 0.002". The 7.5' heat shield had a tolerance of 0.040" of perfection on the spacecraft. I used a special non-contact handheld laser scanner to scan the heat shield - and other instruments to then reverse engineer where they were relative to the space craft. There was a small titanium plate that was the last thing mounted on the spacecraft and just before it was put on the rocket I was able to use etch my signature into the plate. I submit that I have the coolest job in the world. I work on projects like the Europa Clipper, DART, Roman Space Telescope (replacing Hubble) among many other ground breaking projects. I may not have a spacecraft named after me, but my kids think I'm pretty cool. EDIT: Simon forgot to mention a few key points of PSP: - It is the fastest manmade object ever. - It is the first fully autonomous spacecraft - meaning it has sun sensors like arms under the heat shield that if they are exposed to the sun then PSP will automatically course correct to keep the instruments from being exposed directly to the sun. - It is the first spacecraft named after a living human being (all the previous ones were named posthumously) - It took over 60 years to develop the technology so the spacecraft would not burn up. - Eventually the sun's radiation will tear the spacecraft apart.

[@flexinclouds]

This is awesome

[@tomross9947]

That’s so cool

[@duanesamuelson2256]

Great 👍... however I'm guessing your DNA on the craft has been denatured by now...keep it up and I hope your kids do as well in their chosen paths...your DNA in them is far better use of it.

[@Chris.Pontius]

I also left my DNA on many surfaces but somehow I doubt that will be viewed as an achievement.

[@kyle_mk17]

I think you're cool too

[@barryhamm3414]

I first read the title of this video as "Firing Senators into the Sun" and thought what a good idea.

[@JimBob-vb8oz]

They want things that work

[@wally626v_m7]

I worked on some of the early versions of the solar probe. Over the years they got smaller cheaper and did not get as close to the sun. Went to a couple heat shield meetings for the current probe but got yanked off the project for some higher priority stuff. Got to see the shield being built, pretty cool looking up close.

[@WhiteGeared]

You are affiliated with NASA! Not many people from that side we see in KZbin comment section. What was the higher priority project by the way? Something cooler like nuking sun maybe? 😄

[@russellzauner]

The solar storm season of 2021 has already created the largest ejection ever recorded but also knocked out weaker parts of the US power grid a couple times already; scientists currently believe high solar activity also effects seismic activity, which also this year we have seen many magnitude 7+ events in the past few weeks including two that happened yesterday.

[@Chris-hx3om]

Research 'Carrington Event'... Scary as.

[@lordfrz9339]

Damn global warming(!)

[@cripplegunsmith1]

In 2012 we had some X class flares that came close to hitting the Earth. The damage that could cause is beyond frightening! Everything electronic just gone!

[@jesusyamatotv3099]

"Parker! I better see pictures of the sun on my desk by Wednesday or you're fired!"

[@NicholasJeffery]

"To call the Sun large would be like calling Hitler a man with issues." - Simon Whistler, 2021.

[@rat_king-]

And i too have been rejected from art school

[@Buskyb]

Well... on one hand the sun is rather large compared to earth, but, on the other hand compared to other stars it could be small, average or big all in one

[@StrangeTerror]

I kinda have just said that. I mean who doesn't know how shit Hitler was?

[@JimGobetz]

Of all the vids on this channel the ones on great science projects/missions are my favourites. Science is what we as a species excel at most and when we dedicate our efforts towards using it for good, amazing things happen.

[@pegasusted2504]

Unfortunately that isn't very often. Most of the stuff we design/make and then use to try to kill each other.

[@luddity]

You might also enjoy Anton Petrov's channel then.

[@JimGobetz]

@@luddity Long time subscriber, even have a couple "Hello Wonderful Person" tee shirts!

[@mikeygallos5000]

I love the random size comparisons they do on this channel. This time they did it with the speed the probe is traveling at.

[@drboze6781]

Strange, but true: The sun's Corona contains no limes.

[@thejudgmentalcat]

Or viruses!👍

[@nathangrindle1645]

HA! Love it!

[@tarab9081]

#nomorefruitinbeer

[@thejudgmentalcat]

@@tarab9081 🤣🤣

[@rogersmith1746]

Woa.

[@Cryodrake]

Awesome video, a probe studying a star under going Nuclear Fusion. You know what else does nuclear fusion? *snaps fingers* that's right the ITER fusion reactor which you should totally do a video on as well.

[@jacobbaumgardner3406]

Now that is a megaproject. Like ah actual megaproject for once.

[@MashMonster69]

And that's what they call a transition.

[@davidanalyst671]

@@MashMonster69 *snap*

[@davidanalyst671]

iter is boring as hell right now. Thats why. They are putting it together. youtube it, and you can get vids of them building the whole compound.

[@PObermanns]

An amazing mission. I'm so glad that it was named after Dr. Parker - within his lifetime. And the video was very good - as always.

[@TheTundra193]

Not sure if it’s worthy of a mega projects video but something I’d be interested in learning more about would be White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

[@megaprojects9649]

I'll look into it. If not MP, maybe it'll work for Sideprojects :)

[@Beryllahawk]

Simon nerds out about space stuff?! Hell yes!!!

[@DMichaelAtLarge]

At first when I read the title of this video without my glasses on, I read, "Firing Senators into the Sun." And I thought, what a great idea!

[@jameswhitehead6758]

"Sounds like fancy science talk, but I'm a small brain so there we go" Aren't we all.

[@threeballwilly]

Holy f**k I read this right at that point of the video! Like an echo in my head...

[@seymourbutts9085]

I'll be ready for the pop quiz tomorrow.

[@SparkBerry]

Great. So a billion years from now I'll have to worry about another Corona.

[@BLACKAAROW]

such an underrated comment, lol

[@davidanalyst671]

hahaha!! so yes, the science is out as to what the sun will do. Some scientists say the sun will lose gravitational power and expand out to the earth, some say it will just explode. Either way, anyone living here is in deepp deeeeeeep doodoo. Thats really the reason we sent the parker probe, is to figure out exactly what reactions are happening in the sun, at what rates, how much fuel is left, and give us a expire by date on the sun. either way its over a million years, so we do have time... lolz

[@michaelsommers2356]

@@davidanalyst671 No one says the Sun's gravity will reduce; for that to happen the Sun would need to lose much mass, far more than is lot to the solar wind. It will eventually become a red giant, but it will not explode. Rather, as the core, where fusion happens, runs out of hydrogen, the amount of fusion decreases, causing the core to shrink. This means that, in order to conserve energy, the outer parts of the star must expand. This will happen in about five billion years. However, before then, in a mere billion years or so, the Sun's luminosity will increase to the point that the Earth will be inside the expanding habitable zone, with the result that the oceans will boil away. But most, if not all, life will have ended before that happens, because the increasing temperature will reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, killing most plants, and thus much reducing atmospheric oxygen. The Parker probe is not designed to study the core, as you say. It's mission is to study the corona, the solar wind, and the magnetic field.

[@davidanalyst671]

@@michaelsommers2356 That was one of the latest theories i have read, yes. and Yes, the probe is studying the sun to see if it is going to explode on us. it doesn't have to go into the core of the sun for us to study it.

[@Chris-hx3om]

Nothing to worry about. The human race has pretty much already seen to its own demise. I give us about 150 years, then the changes we've done to the climate will end us all.

[@jasonwilde197]

I have to go watch Sunshine now...Featuring a Pre-Captain America Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy as Cillian Murphy, Mark Strong, as the Mark Strong you don't really see, Hiroyuki Sanada the Legendary Captain, and Chipo Chung (Who you also don't see) as Icarus. Also Directed by Danny Boyle...Love you Danny. Such a great flick! Thanks for reminding me about trying to fly into the Sun Simon!

[@joshwilliams8863]

That's a great half-movie. Once it turns into a slasher fic though, it ruins everything.

[@jasonwilde197]

@@joshwilliams8863 I agree. I kinda wish it was handled a bit differently. For example, DO NOT COVER UP MARK STRONG, I didn't even know that was him for the longest time. It would have been better if he was rescued and then suffered a breakdown on the ship. We missed all that character development because he was on Icarus 1. It would have been nice to see him go through changes the closer they got to the Sun.

[@peerpede-p.]

I will just give thanks because you use both Metric and Imperial numbers in your programs.

[@silk1435]

0:21 "Recently we did a video on Voyager 1" Me: "April 30 & August 23, well I guess recently is relative"

[@MultiWolfstorm]

That's.. recent. Couple that with the fact he might submit these scripts and videos to editors and not actually know when they will be uploaded, and I really don't get the point of this comment.

[@silk1435]

@@MultiWolfstorm I guess my definition is more along the lines of 1 or 2 months, but fair point. Although I guess it he probably filmed them much closer together, making my entire point irrelevant :)

[@MultiWolfstorm]

@@silk1435 Sorry if I came across rude, I was tired and grumpy already when I got onto the Tube last night. A lot of more talented and desired KZbin and media presenters will record things and it's hard for them to say when it will air or be uploaded, it's always important to remember the process of editing, distribution, scheduling etc can all have an impact beyond their control at that point. I think you're probably right, it's likely Simon recorded both videos or segments for both in a very similar time frame but one of the videos took longer to edit. A little awkward, but considering how many videos the man does and how long he's been doing it I'd consider an upload in April to be still "recent".

[@silk1435]

@@MultiWolfstorm All good mate, I remembered his out of order uploads as I was typing my first reply to you. I was kind of joking when I wrote the original comment, but that doesn't come across in text, so fair point to comment on its inaccuracy.

[@MultiWolfstorm]

@@silk1435 Thanks for the refreshingly civilised conversation my guy

[@msimpson54]

Yaaaaaay you took my suggestion :)

[@capnrotbart]

"The TPS is capable of withstanding 1370°C" _nervously glances at dusty CPU cooler with occasionally working fan_

[@terrancemuffin]

Heh that's about as hot as a GTX 680!

[@joshwilliams8863]

My old E8400 Core2 Duo got about that hot :P

[@matthewyabsley]

Probe: Hi Sun. I'm on my way over. Sun: Come on then. If you think you're hard enough.

[@mnichols1979]

"As close to hell as you can get"... I don't know about that Simon, you have never met my stepmother...

[@MashMonster69]

Ah, give a bro a thumbs-up. We won't tell your mother in law

[@davidanalyst671]

bro, thats the exact same thing I said when he said that.

[@edwardbrownfield3710]

LOL!

[@andersjjensen]

Besides being more hellish than the sun, does she count as a mega project too? :P

[@mnichols1979]

@@andersjjensen it would be a 15 minute video on how she sounds worse than a retarded cat in heat with one of the worst OCD problems the world has ever seen

[@keepingitreal6793]

Thanks Simon, I really did enjoy the video! Cheers.

[@OldManRoo]

I have been interested in how this probe is going, so thank you! A very well researched, written and narrated documentary.👋

[@jasonwright1687]

Nuclear fusion pulling atoms together, creating elements, and splitting them back apart to go fuse and bond with other material. Star power, baby! 🤘

[@EricvanDorp191]

Amazing how you explain, thx!

[@RoddyBear143]

When my favorite channel posts videos on my favorite subject!

[@Evan_Case]

I played enough Kerbal space to know how hard it is to slow something down enough so that it falls into the sun. Takes a whole lot of Delta V.

[@Scynthius137]

It is really hard to explain to people why it is easier to get to Jupiter than to the Sun. Anyone know of a good video that explains this?

[@Solnoric]

The best method is being willing to take a long time and do a bunch of gravity passes past various bodies

[@AirmetSierra]

@@Scynthius137 Earth's velocity around the sun is about 29.8 km/s Escape velocity from the Sun at the distance of Earth is 44.7 km/s So to fall into the Sun you need to slow down by nearly 29.8 km/s, but you can get anywhere in the outer solar system by speeding up by less than 14.9 km/s .

[@Evan_Case]

@@Scynthius137 I don't. But, the best, relatively simple way I can think of is to explain that it's all about relative velocities to the orbited body. You're going around the Earth at, say, 17000mph (~28,000km/h). But, if you go fast enough relative to the Earth, you'll escape it's gravitational dominance. Now the dominant force is the sun. And, you're speed relative to that is ~67,000mph (108,000km/h). In order to reach Jupiter you just have to leave the Earth in a direction to intercept its orbital path. But, to intercept the sun, you have to slow down at apoapsis (max distance from orbited body) enough to decrease periapsis to the point it intercepts the sun. The amount of energy (deltaV) you have to expend at apoapsis to achieve this is far more than that needed to break free of Earths orbital dominance + any extra deltaV required for gravitational assist adjustments. Okay, it's not _super_ simple. But, it's the general gist distilled into a moderate sized paragraph. Kevin42W did a better job breaking it down really simple, so I just hope this added something.

[@Evan_Case]

@@SD352-68 Lol, I get it. The amount of energy able to be converted into thrust is often referred to as delta V. Granted, it's a misnomer. But, it's a useful way of referring to it.

[@kimhohlmayer7018]

Well done! Fascinating info presented quite nicely.

[@Erik-rp1hi]

Fun fact, watch a PBS doc with Brian Green and they commented that atoms are mostly space. If you could remove the space from the atoms in the Empire State Building it would end up the size of a grain of rice.

[@seymourbutts9085]

I need more space all the time.

[@andersjjensen]

And that's about how dense neutron stars are. One Empire State Building per grain of rice... sounds like a new unit of measure to get everyone worked up about :P

[@Kapalek84]

This was super interesting! Thank you for making this video! Best regards!

[@mikegrazick1795]

What bright glowing details in this video! Sunny side up!

[@proto-geek248]

Shhhhh

[@chiplayton3469]

The Parker probe is the first one named after a living person.honoring nonagenarian physicist Eugene Newman Parker, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago.

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

Waiting for someone to be dead to where bragging rights doesn't do them any good is a stupid requirement anyway.

[@ididyermom3273]

The convection zone is great for cooking your dishes evenly and quickly!

[@ARWest-bp4yb]

Like button SMASHED! 👍👍

[@jameshoffman552]

1:50 Describing the Sun's size in terms of Hitler. Ouch. Venturing a wild guess you lost family to the Holocaust. Thank-you for your work.

[@vustvaleo8068]

so Spider-man went on a suicide mission to the sun.

[@WombatModulus]

Simon, your videos are fantastic! Please do one on the ITER project?

[@FancyPantsFiles]

He who puts ads in the middle of videos deserves an eternity in the photosphere. Shout out to sponsorblock!

[@BingeWorthit]

It’s crazy to imagine that one day, nothing will know about a place once called Earth.

[@collinscody57]

Destin (smartereveryday) has cool video about the rocket that launched that probe

[@DomingosCJM]

I like the direction of investigation, electromagnetic fields and plasma...

[@jwv6985]

Usually when you do something dangerous, "just to see what it is like," things don't go well 😂

[@megaprojects9649]

"Guys! Check this out!"

[@jwv6985]

@@megaprojects9649 Hold my beer! 😂

[@neilpeartspurplenose8739]

Lab in Wuhan says hello!

[@joshuarisker5525]

2:30 you for got the sugar, spice an everything nice Simon lmao

[@jeast417]

Good video, your next ones should be the other 12 ussr 5 year plans

[@wilberator9608]

"I'm a small brain" Jeez, Simon just can't stop blazing!

[@PObermanns]

"True I think, that is not" - Master Yoda.

[@StarScapesOG]

Bagger 293 please! I believe the biggest land vehicle ever should qualify for a mega project or at least a side project video!

[@frankgulla2335]

Nice report. Thank you.

[@saladinbob]

One of these days one of these videos is going to say "they detected radio signals coming from the planet...and it is aliens".

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:30 - Chapter 1 - The sun 4:35 - Chapter 2 - Exploring the sun 5:55 - Chapter 3 - Solar probe concepts 7:00 - Mid roll ads 8:10 - Chapter 4 - The parker solar probe 11:05 - Chapter 5 - Mission 12:55 - Chapter 6 - Early findings 14:30 - Chapter 7 - To boldly go

[@seymourbutts9085]

Looking directly at the sun is far more memorable.

[@MosheMaserati]

BTW, of the remaining 0.2% of the mass in the solar system, Jupiter consists of something like 65% of that. Jupiter could swallow all of the other planets and moons with room to spare.

[@terrancemuffin]

CHONK

[@andersjjensen]

Yup.. Which is also why Jupiter ends up "swallowing" many stray comets and asteroids in the solar system. Which makes Jupiter bigger. Which.. well.. it started early on, and now we're all just glad to have a very big bigger brother :P

[@GrandPrixDecals]

Simon is the only one of us who will never remember a word of this 😁

[@abnurtharn2927]

"Scientific kamikaze mission" Approved by the Japanese emperor.

[@thenick9555]

The Japanese empire was know as the “Rising Sun”.

[@abnurtharn2927]

@@thenick9555 Good point.

[@MashMonster69]

Did you ride to Kyoto and ask him? Because he's been living in Tokyo for quite some time.

[@abnurtharn2927]

@@MashMonster69 :)

[@hullinstruments]

Does Jen do the Memes on this channel also?? I know she’s does the memes and added footage to your “casual criminalist channel“… But I sense her presence in these videos as well? The Dave Chapelle clip at 4:07 got me laughing😂

[@daves1412]

Wonderful - thank you

[@GRosa250]

The graphics of the probe next to the sun is wrong. On its closest approach the probe will be 4.3 million miles from the sun. The diameter of the sun is approximately 865,000 miles. So you could fit nearly five suns in between the probe and the sun on its closest approach.

[@tachyon8875]

Finally, someone who made a good video this awesome space probe.

[@antfirmin]

That was bloody brilliant 🤩

[@padawanmage71]

Damn, when you said radio from Venus, all I could think of was the Protomolecule from the 'Expanse'. ;)

[@DKArmstrong]

Will we get a Megaprojects about Simons beard?

[@kieronparr3403]

I watched a pre-beard video earlier. Did not like

[@RaimoKangasniemi]

The first proper solar probes were US - West German Helios 1-2 in 1974 and 1976. ESA-NASA Ulysses-probe(1990-2009), mentioned in the video, was the first probe to fly over the poles of the Sun, but carried no cameras. ESA's Solar Orbiter, with NASA participation, which just did a Venus flyby, will fly over the Sun's poles later in this decade, this time with a camera. It will come within 42 million kilometers of the Sun, while Parker will approach to 6-8 million kilometers at the closest. Parker has a camera too, but it's pointing away from the Sun, as temperatures Parker faces reach over 1300 degrees Celsius and Solar Orbiter deals with 'only' half of that.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

A nice video. Very... Enlightening.

[@CopyNPasteComments]

Day #4 of asking Simon to make the “Blazing Tee” as a hoodie so I can Perch Dat Merch!

[@DrGangrel38]

Please Simon Thanks 😊

[@kirosotree]

Never give up!

[@ThatGuyNick-w5b]

Make one that said "Brain Blaze" with a bud that is detailed like a brain and I'd be in on it

[@Mckjku16]

Love the space content!

[@ROMAQHICKS]

In a bit of irony, it is more difficult to fall into the Sun than it is to escape the solar system. The energy required to slow a spacecraft down relative to the sun is greater the energy to escape the gravity of the sun. It is why any space craft we have sent to the sun spent a lot of time doing gravitation braking to slow down so it can approach, otherwise you just keep orbiting.

[@CatsMeowPaw]

Heat shield? They should have just sent the probe at night 🤣

[@aorvi7343]

Our sun is 330,000 x the size of Earth. Thats really huge. If it takes 170,000 years for a molecule to get to the surface of our sun, and then 8 minutes to get to earth as a ray of light, then waiting for the sun to change, or go out, is not an issue. It clearly is on a schedule of it's own.

[@hacker4chn841]

The subtitle of this should have been "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"

[@EAWanderer]

Wow, this really is an eye opening topic! Love it! 👍👏👏, that film that was a Hollywood flop - sunshine - looks like its gonna be eclipsed by this realistic adventure haha - pun definitely intended! 😆 Yes UY scuti, biggest star ever discovered! Referencing the star you said makes the sun look tiny!

[@judeevans8303]

cool! i actually had never heard of this thing

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@jacksone5856]

Missed meme opportunity of "lil jon" saying "I Concur my goodman" after that cut lol

[@seanj3667]

Do the reports on Thermal Protection System have cover sheets?

[@mayoite160]

do the rest of the significant space probes like kepler, chandra et al

[@michaellee6489]

simon. i heard a theory that suggests the sun's corona is so hot because it is agitated by the actual noise from the sun itself. the corona is dense enough to sustain acoustic vibrations from the sun, exciting the molecules thus producing heat.(?) what do you think?

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you

[@mayoite160]

SUGGESTION: Ilyushin IL-2 - The single most produced military aircraft in aviation history - Visionary WWII ground-attack "flying tank" and spiritual predecessor to the A-10 Warthog - Some WWII German nicknames for it: "meat grinder", "butcher", "black death", "slaughterer", "concrete bird" - What Stalin had to say about it: "Our Red Army now needs IL-2 aircraft like the air it breathes, like the bread it eats."

[@jordanscherr6699]

How much does that spacecraft have in common with Icarus of the "Sunshine" motion picture? It would seam relatively little, as it relies on it's small size and maneuverability to keep the craft behind the shield intact. That said, the shield clearly needs to have it's own angle-correction to work just like the Icarus's angled mirrors. Otherwise no reflective surface would allow materials underneath to survive the temperatures.

[@jessiesratrods1210]

This is literally the flight of Icarus but more metal than even Iron Maiden made it out to be.

[@hilerga1]

Bearing in mind I'm on my phone, but I've noticed this issue on the phone itself, Bluetooth to my car, and in my earphones - the S sounds are very harsh. Definitely need more/better de-Sing filtering. I've noticed this in other videos but held off mentioning until now.

[@proto-geek248]

shhhhh

[@samuelpatacas7751]

Nah even that comparison would be an understatement on how big that huge ball of flaming fury is.

[@emmanuelbarsoum3554]

I thinks he should do a megaproject on falcon 9. it is big and a great engineering challenge

[@pharmdiddy5120]

I would love to know more about the engineering and the materials that go behind such a crazy idea... Like you're that close to electromagnetic pulses wouldn't you think all of your electronics get fried? Is it wrapped in a giant Faraday cage if so how did all the signals get out?

[@joshwilliams8863]

In the solar wind, it's not electromagnetic pulses that you have to worry about, it's electromagnetic radiation from the Sun (X-rays, gamma rays, etc.) and paticle radiation (energetic protons, alpha particles, etc.). We've had a bit of practice at shielding spacecraft from these types of radiations - our Van Allen belts (which some scientific satellites fly through) have highly energetic protons and electrons. It's just a matter of taking those same principals and putting a heat shield on it (to proect it from the electromagnetic side of things). It won't block any radio signals because I'd assume the antenna is behind a shield facing the Sun, and behind it is Earth.

[@chrisgrundberg9212]

A suggestion, the Martin Mars water bomber. An absolutely amazing aircraft.

[@iVETAnsolini]

So the water won’t freeze in the radiator on the back side? Or dark side?

[@giglefreakz]

Title: Parker Solar Probe Thumbnail: Delta IV Heavy without the Parker Solar Probe Still love the video tho

[@beachboy0505]

We have our own star 🌟. Just be grateful Great video 📹 👍

[@oceania68]

I and my Cat's name are on that probe :D as well as Mars.. we're waiting for the next adventurous trip they can drum up and I'll put mine and my cat's name on that too, hahaha :D

[@ebikeengineer]

Another good video Simon, but not one word mentioning who built her? The fine engineers and scientists and the Applied Physics Lab? The same facility that brought you New Horizons and Messenger (among others)

[@AviatorRob1138]

I just realized that Simon has never done a Megaprojects video on the MESSENGER probe to Mercury. That would also make for a pretty good video. MESSENGER had a pretty impressive heat shield since the probe had to stay in orbit around Mercury for an extended length of time while the Parker Solar Probe orbits the sun in a highly elliptical orbit that extends out past Mercury and early on extended out past Venus.

[@ebikeengineer]

@@AviatorRob1138 STEREO might be another one, and it directly relates to Parker.

[@agesteiro7326]

my children's names is stored on a chip aboard the Parker probe, there was an signup process before the launch to join the expedition, we all got a golden ticket for it

[@yogi6917]

If you came for a video on the probe, it starts @ 08:07 If you came for a video on the sun, it starts @ 00:00

[@dancarey7204]

In the future this will be recognised as the first step to a Dyson Sphere.

[@svanderlaars]

Simon's videos are great, but the team really needs to work on sound level normalization. For the last couple of weeks the levels are all over the place during the videos :-(

[@ollieb9875]

Videos!

[@svanderlaars]

@@ollieb9875 Thank you! Have a snickers :-)

[@ollieb9875]

@@svanderlaars yas! 🥳🎉👏

[@angelitabecerra]

Well played with the Powerpuff Girls clips 💪🏾

[@BPJac]

What ever happened to the space dust collected by the Genesis probe that crashed to earth in 2004? Were they able to collect any useful data from what was left of it?

[@cg4152]

Please normalize the sound. At times it is deafeningly loud, at times too soft to hear anything. Yes, I tried the volume knob to "normalize" it myself. I failed successfully.

[@moraku]

Hey Simon can we get a video on the German panzers and the tiger tanks

[@Oilburnerful]

There are rivers of solar wind. Cool