'Touch the Sun': NASA spacecraft set to investigate corona
NASA mission to the Sun
NASA scientists said the spacecraft will come 3.83 million miles from the surface of the sun
National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) is set to launch a spacecraft on Saturday to explore the Sun's atmosphere and unveil the secrets of the corona.
Corona, the outer part of Sun's atmosphere has intrigued scientists for decades. It is said to be 300 times hotter than the Sun's surface.
The seven-year Parker Solar Probe will focus on "touching the Sun", studying the outer atmosphere of the Sun which give rise to solar winds.
"We carry with us an amazing payload of instruments, and those instruments are designed to make those critical measurements that we have waited so long for," Parker space solar probe project scientist Nicola Fox said.
The spacecraft will blast off from on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida early Saturday.
"Why this atmosphere is continually expanding and continually accelerating away from the star. The only way we can do that is to finally go up and touch the Sun," Fox said enthusiastically.
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NASA scientists said the spacecraft will come 3.83 million miles from the surface of the Sun as it investigates the Sun's outermost atmosphere.
The probe is protected by a powerful heat shield that is just 4.5 inches thick. The shield will help the the Parker Solar Probe to withstand radiation which is reportedly 500 times the Sun's radiation on Earth, scientists said.
The Parker Solar Probe is named after scientist Eugene Parker, 91, who predicted the existence of a solar wind around the Sun. It was proved correct when NASA undertook a space mission in 1962 which revealed the existence of the mysterious solar wind.