On Aug. 12, NASA successfully launched Parker Solar Probe toward the Sun, where it will fly closer than any spacecraft ever has before. This week’s 10 Things blog tells you what you need to know about how this mission will uncover new secrets about our star: https://go.nasa.gov/2NoapD2 | NASA Solar System Exploration

And there it GOES! 🚀 Here’s Parker Solar Probe’s path across the Sun in real-time images taken by the Solar Ultraviolet Imager aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, or GOES-16, satellite. GOES watches the Sun to keep an eye out for solar eruptions headed our way. But it can also provide key context to help scientists better understand what Parker is measuring. Parker Solar Probe is built, managed and operated by the

Three years after its launch, the Parker Solar Probe made its first passage through the sun's upper atmosphere. In 2018, we got a behind-the-scenes look at how NASA engineers built the probe to survive the tremendously hot journey. | NPR

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is on an epic mission to unravel the mysteries of our Sun, one daring flyby at a time. Launched in 2018, this spacecraft has been inching closer to the Sun, setting new records each time. Its goal? is to study the Sun’s coronal plasma and magnetic field up close. On December 24, 2024, it flew just 6.1 million km from the Sun’s surface, the closest we’ve ever gotten. At 692,000 km/h, it zipped past quickly but collected invaluable data, including the first images of the