The first craft to fly through the sun's atmosphere was NASA'sParker Solar probe.
An artist's rendering of theParker Solar Probe approaching the Sun.
The Associated Press.
It took months to receive and verify the data from the first entry into the corona.
NASA officials said that the voyage will help them understand the sun's history and influence on the solar system.
The probe found magnetic zig-zag structures on the solar surface that scientists were able to understand.
The corona appeared to be more dust than expected, according to project scientist Nour Raouafi.
The model of theParker Solar Probe is displayed at a meeting at the William Eckhardt Research Center in Chicago.
The images are from the same company.
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The key background.
The sun has a strong magnetic field and a surface temperature of 9,941 degrees. NASA planned to get its closest look at the star with the launch of theParker Solar probe. The solar probe is going to approach the sun at a speed of up to 430,000 mph. The record for closest solar approach was held by the Helios 2 probe, which passed within 26 million miles of the sun in 1976.
The Pioneer 10 and 11 craft carried aluminum plaques with greetings from humanity, while theParker Solar Probe carries a memory card with 1.1 million names submitted by the public.
Surprising fact.
The first NASA mission named after a living person is theParker Solar probe.
What to watch for.
The solar probe is going to be in and out of the corona 25 times.
A NASA Spacecraft just broke the record for the closest approach to the sun.
The NASA craft touched the sun for the first time.
