Parker Solar Probe Earns the 2024 Collier Trophy
NASA and Johns Hopkins-Led Team Makes History with Unprecedented Mission to the Sun’s Corona.
WASHINGTON, DC, March 25, 2025—The highly prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) since 1911 for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, will be bestowed upon the Parker Solar Probe (Parker) Team, led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), on June 12, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
“As the oldest national aviation organization in the U.S., the NAA’s awards are the most prestigious and sought-after in the industry,” said Amy Spowart, NAA President and CEO. “The Collier Trophy is a recognition like no other, and the Parker Solar Probe Team’s achievement in earning the 2024 Collier is an extraordinary example of determination, genius, and teamwork. It is our distinct honor to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable team that turned the impossible into reality.”
On December 24, 2024, Parker ventured deep into the Sun’s corona, reaching an altitude of just 3.83 million miles above the solar surface. This distance is seven times closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft has ever operated. Parker also set a new record as the fastest human-made object in history, achieving a peak speed of approximately 430,000 mph—three times faster than anything prior. The mission, launched in 2018, marked a new era of scientific discovery and established a new standard for spacecraft performance. Parker’s advances in thermal protection, autonomy, and power management demonstrated significant technical advancements that will influence the future of space exploration.
“Congratulations to the entire Parker Solar Probe team for this well-earned recognition,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “This mission’s trailblazing research is rewriting the textbooks on solar science by going to a place no human-made object has ever been and advancing NASA’s efforts to better understand our solar system and the Sun’s influence, with lasting benefits for us all. As the first to touch the Sun and fastest human-made object ever built, Parker Solar Probe is a testament to human ingenuity and discovery.”
To prepare for its closest approach – its 22nd trip around the Sun – Parker conducted its seventh Venus flyby and performed several propulsion maneuvers that aligned the 1,500-pound spacecraft for a historic encounter closer to our star than any previous spacecraft. Approaching the Sun at incredible speeds, Parker traveled through an unexplored and turbulent region of the solar atmosphere, where highly energetic particles move at nearly half the speed of light. The spacecraft experienced extended communication blackouts with Earth throughout its journey and relied entirely on its autonomous systems to survive in this extreme environment. Autonomously, Parker continuously and precisely adjusted its orientation to ensure its one-of-a-kind sun shield protected it from intense heat, maintaining a safe internal temperature of roughly 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Today, the mission continues, providing scientists with insights into solar processes, including those that create high-energy space weather that can affect technology on and above Earth, including crewed spaceflight, air travel, and the power grid.
“This amazing team brought to life an incredibly difficult space science mission that had been studied, and determined to be impossible, for more than 60 years. They did so by solving numerous long-standing technology challenges and dramatically advancing our nation’s spaceflight capabilities,” said APL Director Ralph Semmel. “The Collier Trophy is well-earned recognition for this phenomenal group of innovators from NASA, APL, and our industry and research partners from across the nation.”
APL developed and operates Parker on behalf of NASA. APL and the team’s academic and industry partners provided innovative and reliable hardware and scientific instrumentation, enabling this mission’s success. Partners include: Aerojet, BWX Technologies, Carbon-Carbon Advanced Technologies, Hamilton Sundstrand, Naval Research Laboratory, Northrop Grumman, Plasma Processes Inc., Princeton University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, SolAero, Tricor Metals, and the University of California, Berkeley.
Members of the 2024 Robert J. Collier Selection Committee are:
- Richard Aboulafia, AeroDynamic Advisory
- Ivon Aheart*, Airlines for America
- Jim Albaugh*, NAA Board Chair
- Ronce Almond, American Airlines
- Albert Berchtold*, U.S. Parachute Assoc.
- Ed Bolen, NBAA
- Leda Chong*, Gulfstream Aerospacee
- Jamie Darcy*, Darcy Strategic, LLC
- J. Ray Davis*, Rolls-Royce N.A.
- Bill Dolny, MedAire
- Gary Dunn, Aviation Partners
- Ted Ellett*, NAA General Counsel
- Kate Fraser, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Andrew Gappy, Leonardo Helicopters U.S.
- Trish Gilbert, IFATCA
- Lauren Haertlein*, Joby Aviation
- David Harper, FlightSafety International
- Kylie Ho*, Blue Origin
- Jason Hopkins*, Lockheed Martin
- Carol Huegel, RTCA
- Howard Kass, Skyryse
- Lance Kwasniewski*, Belcan
- John S. Langford*, Electra.aero
- Becky Lutte*, ERAU
- Sam Magill*, NASA
- Paul McNeill*, Click Bond
- Chris Milligan*, Bombardier
- Mary Claire Murphy*, Textron
- Mark Ofsthun*, HondaJet
- Martin Palmaz, Former Aviation Executive
- David Richardson*, Aero Club of Washington
- Michael Robbins, AUVSI
- Rod Skaar, NAA C&R Board Chair
- Amy Spowart*, NAA President & CEO
- Ben Squires, Howmet Aerospace
- Liana Sucar-Hamel*, Airbus N.A.
- Goodloe Sutton*, The Boeing Company
- Katie Thomson, Former FAA Deputy Administrator
- Brad Thress*, Former Aviation Executive
- James Viola*, GAMA
*NAA Board of Director
Please click here for a complete list of Robert J. Collier Trophy recipients.
To learn more about the Collier Dinner event, please contact Tina Wu.
