NASA's Parker solar probe to launch on a mission to touch the sun [View all]
Source: Axios
NASA is set to launch the first space mission to enter the sun's corona, with the launch slated for Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The big picture: The Parker Solar Probe stands out for just how close to the sun it plans to reach: less that 3.82 million miles away. By comparison, we live a comfortable 93 million miles away from our solar system's star. Assuming a successful launch, the probe will also become the fastest-moving man-made object ever, traveling at 340,000 miles per hour.
Why it matters: At a press conference on Thursday, project scientist Nicola Fox said that engineers and scientists have been waiting 60 years to be able to develop the right technology to build this type of probe. "We know a lot about the sun," she said, but there are key mysteries that will be unsolvable until a spacecraft can reach closer to its surface.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/parker-solar-probe-mission-to-touch-the-sun-cd27019d-c161-4863-b6e8-a2e3d0464816.html
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