A spacecraft launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has achieved a feat once thought impossible. For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the corona of the Sun – an extreme environment that’s roughly 2 million degrees Fahrenheit – in a milestone that marks one major step for the spacefaring organisation and one giant leap for mankind and solar science.
The rocketship, called the Parker Solar Probe, successfully entered and flew through the Sun’s upper atmosphere – the corona – on April 28 and sampled particles and magnetic fields situated on the surface of the red-hot star.
A spacecraft launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has achieved a feat once thought impossible. For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the corona of the Sun – an extreme environment that’s roughly 2 million degrees Fahrenheit – in a milestone that marks one major step for the spacefaring organisation and one giant leap for mankind and solar science.
The rocketship, called the Parker Solar Probe, successfully entered and flew through the Sun’s upper atmosphere – the corona – on April 28 and sampled particles and magnetic fields situated on the surface of the red-hot star.
“Parker Solar Probe “touching the Sun” is a monumental moment for solar science and a truly remarkable feat,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Not only does this milestone provide us with deeper insights into our Sun’s evolution and it’s impacts on our solar system, but everything we learn about our own star also teaches us more about stars in the rest of the universe.”
