NASA Parker Solar Probe Blasts Off on Historic Mission to Sun

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.

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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.