Rank 22 documents Parker Solar Probe — the APL spacecraft that became the fastest human-made object and the first to sample the Sun's corona in situ, named for Eugene Parker who predicted the solar wind in 1958. Launched 12 August 2018 aboard Delta IV Heavy, PSP uses seven Venus gravity assists across 24 planned orbits to tighten its perihelion toward 6.9 million kilometres from the Sun's surface — inside the corona where temperatures exceed one million kelvin while the heat shield faces 1,370°C. The 11.4-centimetre-thick carbon foam Thermal Protection System and water-cooled solar arrays enable in situ particle and field measurements that ground observatories cannot replicate. Wallimilist renders the TPS heat shield facing the stippled Sun, Venus flyby arc, FIELDS antenna boom, and navy PARKER SOLAR PROBE title exactly as the master PNG dictates — 2018 kicker, orange closest-approach badge, and curator copy on heliophysics heritage.