NASA Parker Solar Probe Blasts Off on Historic Mission to Sun

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the Parker Solar Probe automatic station to explore the Sun from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The US scientists expect that the Delta IV launch vehicle with a probe equipped with scientific instruments, in the event of success, will provide them with new data on processes in the solar atmosphere that are important for life on Earth.

READ MORE: Close Encounters: NASA Astronaut Thinks He Saw 'Organic Looking' Alien

At the end of its mission, planned for eight years, Parker Solar Probe should approach the star at the center of our solar system at a distance of about 6 million km: no other spacecraft has flown so close. The project is estimated to cost $1.5 billion.

3-2-1… and we have liftoff of Parker #SolarProbe atop @ULAlaunch’s #DeltaIV Heavy rocket. Tune in as we broadcast our mission to “touch” the Sun: https://t.co/T3F4bqeATB pic.twitter.com/Ah4023Vfvn

— NASA (@NASA) August 12, 2018