Prof. Eugene Parker becomes first person to see launch of mission named in their honor

At 2:31 a.m. CDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe blasted off into the predawn darkness, on its way to explore the sun on a mission that will send it closer to our star than any previous spacecraft.

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“All I can say is wow, here we go,” said Parker, who is the S. Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in Physics at UChicago. “[Now I] really have to turn from biting my nails … to thinking about all the interesting things which I don’t know yet. We’re in for some learning the next several years.”

Read the full article at UChicago News, and catch up on the story so far:

The Parker Solar Probe arrived in Titusville in early April to prep for launch, and is carrying more than 1.1 million names to the Sun. The solar mission was announced in 2017.

Learn more about Prof. Emeritus Eugene Parker via the New York Times and more about his research here, or read about his visit to NASA to view his namesake spacecraft here.