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Next week, NASA is launching their Parker Solar Probe, a spacecraft destined to “touch to sun.” Engineers have armed the probe with a thick heat shield, made mostly of carbon, to protect the craft and its delicate instruments from the Sun’s extreme temperatures.
On its final close approach, in 2025, the Parker Solar Probe will get within 4 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the sun's surface — so close that it will actually fly through the star's incredibly hot atmosphere, called the corona, NASA officials have said. The spacecraft will survive the heat for so many years because of the powerful shield engineers have designed.
On its final close approach, in 2025, the Parker Solar Probe will get within 4 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the sun's surface — so close that it will actually fly through the star's incredibly hot atmosphere, called the corona, NASA officials have said. The spacecraft will survive the heat for so many years because of the powerful shield engineers have designed.