How ‘touching the sun’ can help protect critical infrastructure on Earth 

June 25, 2025

The Parker Solar Probe, a NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory mission to study the sun’s outer atmosphere, won the prestigious 2024 Collier Trophy for its boundary-breaking achievement.

In March 1989, a geomagnetic storm caused a widespread power outage in the northeastern U.S. and Canada. In 2022, SpaceX lost 40 satellites because of a solar outburst. And just a few weeks ago, the northern lights could be seen as far south as Alabama. Behind all of these unpredictable events is the sun, the Earth’s life-sustaining star and the subject of a recently honored mission led by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

With the protection of a 4.5-inch-thick carbon-composite shield, the Parker Solar Probe literally touched the sun on Dec. 24, 2024, flying directly into the corona, its outermost atmosphere, to observe the star more closely than ever before. This accomplishment, which scientists had dreamt of achieving since 1958, allows scientists to not only better understand the sun itself, but also its effects on Earth. APL designed, built, and operates the car-sized spacecraft and manages the mission, which launched in 2018 and is still ongoing.

On June 12, the National Aeronautic Association honored this NASA mission with the 2024 Robert J. Collier Trophy, an annual award that recognizes the most exceptional aeronautics and astronautics achievements in improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles. Parker joins other major boundary breakers whose names are etched on the trophy’s plaques, including Apollo 11, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory team for the Parker Solar Probe stands next to the Collier Trophy, which lives in the National Air and Space Museum.

“The Parker Solar Probe team humbly joins the giants of the industry that we’ve heard about whose names adorn this Collier Trophy,” said Elizabeth Congdon, lead engineer for the Parker Solar Probe thermal protection system. “One hundred and twenty-one years ago, the Wright brothers ushered in the age of powered flight. In 1969, humans set foot on the moon. And in December 2024, we touched a star.”

What is the Parker Solar Probe observing?

When flying into the sun’s outer atmosphere, the spacecraft not only had to withstand the sun’s heat, but also collect data and send it back to Earth to help scientists understand the star’s nature better.

“Every 88 days, all on its own, it reaches its hands underneath the dragon’s belly and steals a little bit of scientific knowledge and returns it to Earth — only to escape the inferno and return again and again,” said Andrew Driesman, mission area executive for Civil Space Flight at APL.

The Parker Solar Probe’s goal is to study the sun’s maze of magnetic fields, plasma, and energetic particles and to capture images of the solar wind and the sun’s massive eruptions.

The sun’s atmosphere. Parker is collecting data to help scientists understand why the star’s atmosphere is hundreds of times hotter than its surface. In its voyage, the probe also solved a long-standing mystery: The sun doesn’t have a solid surface like Earth. It has a superheated atmosphere held together by gravity and magnetic forces.

Solar winds. From Earth, solar winds look like a mostly smooth and steady current, but the probe’s observation from within the sun’s atmosphere revealed that they were less predictable and uniform than previously thought. Parker even documented reversals in magnetic fields that affect the behavior of solar winds, a phenomenon that’s reshaping scientists’ understanding of how magnetic fields behave in space.

Space weather. Parker provided a clearer view of space weather events like solar storms and coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. These can have consequences for humans in space and technology Earth relies on.

How do the Parker Solar Probe’s observations impact life and technology on Earth?

Studying the sun’s activity has implications for Earth, the solar system, and how we navigate space in the future. Once scientists have a better understanding of solar activity, they can better predict and protect against events that put people or infrastructure at risk.

“Space exploration is not just for fun,” said Nour Rawafi, astrophysicist and APL project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe mission. “Space exploration will push technology to boundaries that we have not reached before.”

Securing satellites

This mission will help scientists better understand and predict space weather, which can affect satellite orbits, lifespans, and onboard electronics.

For instance, a major geomagnetic storm in May 2024 threw thousands of satellites off orbit, forcing them to perform orbit-raising maneuvers, which increases the risk of satellite collisions.

Protecting space infrastructure is becoming increasingly important, Rawafi said, as the space economy is predicted to be worth $1.8 trillion by 2035, according to a McKinsey & Company report. The main drivers of this growth will come from “the need for greater connectivity via satellites, higher demand for positioning and navigation services on mobile phones, and increased demand for insights powered by AI and machine learning,” the report noted.

  • $1.8T

    Predicted value of the space economy by 2035

“We cannot have all that infrastructure in space if we cannot protect it from solar activity, and the best way to protect it from solar activity is to understand how the sun works,” Rawafi said.

Safeguarding Earth technology  

Solar wind disturbances shake Earth’s magnetic field, causing power lines to surge, which can destroy equipment and knock out power over large areas. This has economic consequences. A geomagnetic storm in May 2024 caused a GPS outage during an important planting period, costing American farmers over $500 million in potential profit, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Parker is studying solar eruptions to better grasp how particles accelerate to speeds that can put power grids at risk.

Strengthening national competitiveness

Space discoveries often pave the way for other major technological advancements that impact civil life and national defense. This is why it’s imperative that the U.S. lead in space discovery, Rawafi said.

“If we give up on space exploration, and other aspects of science, we are actually giving the opportunities to other nations to go ahead of us,” he said. “That is something we cannot really afford.”

Protecting astronauts

The Parker Solar Probe is studying solar eruptions and space weather that can expose astronauts to dangerous radiation levels.

“Here on Earth, we are so lucky to have a shield that is the Earth’s magnetic field,” Rawafi said. “Out there, there is no such shield. We have to protect our astronauts from this magnetic activity, and the best way to do it, again, is to understand how the sun works.”

Other APL-driven missions that have advanced space science

The Parker Solar Probe is a “uniquely APL mission,” said Bobby Braun, the lab’s space exploration sector head. It adds to APL’s legacy of supporting some of the most historic space missions and technology, including: