Parker Solar Probe: A Mission to Touch the Sun published by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory / NASA, 2018. This visually striking commemorative volume documents NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission, one of the most ambitious space science missions ever attempted. Produced by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the book highlights the design, construction, testing, and scientific purpose of the spacecraft created to fly closer to the Sun than any previous human-made object.

The Parker Solar Probe mission is named for Eugene Parker, the University of Chicago astrophysicist whose pioneering 1958 theory explained the solar wind — the stream of charged particles flowing outward from the Sun through the solar system. The book connects Parker’s work with the mission’s goal of investigating the Sun’s corona, the mystery of why the corona is vastly hotter than the solar surface, and the forces that accelerate solar energetic particles and shape space weather.

The volume features images of the spacecraft, mission team, thermal protection system, testing facilities, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory team in Laurel, Maryland. It also identifies the scientific investigations and institutional partners involved in the mission, including NASA, Johns Hopkins APL, Goddard Space Flight Center, University of California Berkeley, Princeton University, University of Michigan, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Naval Research Laboratory, and UCLA.

Historically and scientifically, this book is associated with solar physics, heliophysics, astrophysics, NASA space exploration, space weather research, solar wind theory, the Mariner 2 confirmation of Parker’s theory, the Living With a Star program, and the ongoing study of the Sun’s influence on Earth, satellites, communications, navigation systems, astronauts, and the broader solar system. It is also notable as a publication tied to the first NASA mission named for a living person.

A desirable item for collectors of NASA memorabilia, space exploration books, Johns Hopkins APL publications, astronomy, astrophysics, solar science, spacecraft engineering, aerospace history, and modern robotic space missions.

Details: Parker Solar Probe: A Mission to Touch the Sun. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / NASA. Copyright 2018, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC. Photography by Ed Whitman, Lee Hobson, Jeffrey Fiske, and David Vespoint. Hardcover / photo-illustrated commemorative mission book.