A Spacecraft Has Touched the Sun, for the First Time in History

Three years after NASA's Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018, Parker entered the sun's upper atmosphere – One small step for the probe, one giant leap for solar science.

Today, NASA announced new results from this monumental research project. The Parker Solar Probe sampled particles and magnetic fields from the sun's corona bringing in new discoveries. Here are some behind-the-scenes images from this historic moment.

December 14, 2021

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Photo By: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Photo By: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Photo By: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Photo By: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Photo By: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Photo By: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Photo By: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Photo By: NASA/Naval Research Laboratory/Parker Solar Probe