FIELDS

[2] The host spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe, was launched by a Delta IV Heavy on August 12, 2018 from Florida, USA.

[3] On August 13, 2018 FIELDS became the first instrument to be activated including beginning deployment of the four whip antennas (clamps unlocked) and extension of the magnetometer boom.

[1] It has five voltage sensors, four of which extend beyond the spacecraft's heatshield and must directly endure the intense conditions at the planned distances of less than 10 solar radii to the Sun.

[2] Most of FIELDS instrumentation is protected, along with the bulk of the spacecraft by a special 4.5 inch (11.43 cm) thick carbon heatshield as the spacecraft is expected to endure temperatures of 2,500 degrees F.[9] While the surface of the Sun is roughly 10,000 degrees F, the solar corona has a temperature exceeding 1 million°F.

[1] The sensors are integrated with various electrical and electronic processing systems which take in the raw signals and convert them into software data for transmission back to Earth by radio communication.

Overview of the FIELDS instrument on the Parker Solar Probe
Niobium (shown here) is the main ingredient in the high-temperature C-103 alloy which the four whip antennas are made of, to endure direct exposure to the Sun at planned proximities.
FIELDS heads into space in August 2018 as part of the Parker Solar Probe .