Parker Solar Probe aims to answer two of the major open questions of contemporary physics: why is the atmosphere of stars (called corona) so much hotter than the surface of the star? For the Sun, the corona exceeds 10⁶ °C while the temperature of the surface is below 6000 °C. The second question concerns the sources of the solar wind, this flow of plasma which escapes permanently from the Sun, in spite of the enormous gravitational attraction force that should retain it (see scientific objectives).

To meet these objectives, Parker Solar Probe will mainly carry out in situ measurements, making a complete diagnosis of the ionized environment that the satellite crosses. Even if today we know a lot about the Sun thanks to the observations made by various telescopes, only an in situ measurement, inside the solar corona, allows to better understand the great complexity of the physical mechanisms which act there.

The satellite is equipped with four instrumental suites, each measuring specific properties:

• FIELDS measures the electric and magnetic fields, from the continuous component to the fast fluctuations whose frequency exceeds 1 MHz;
• SWEAP measures the characteristics of ions and electrons, and in particular their distribution as a function of their speed;
• IS⊙IS focuses on very high energy ions, whose speed approaches that of light;
• WISPR is the only camera on board the satellite and observes the solar corona.

The four instrumental suites of the mission are under the responsibility of US scientists. However, several French laboratories have also contributed, with the support of CNES. Today, it is a large international community that works on the data of this mission and offers many synergies with the Solar Orbiter mission, launched in 2020 and managed by the European Space Agency.