NASA Spacecraft Makes History, Survives Closest-Ever Approach To Sun

On December 24, the spacecraft came within just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) of the Sun’s surface, entering the corona, its outer atmosphere. The mission aims to deepen scientists' understanding of the Sun, Earth's nearest star.

The operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland received a beacon signal from the probe just before midnight on Thursday, confirming its health and operational status.

NASA stated: “Following its record-breaking closest approach to the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has transmitted a beacon tone back to Earth indicating it’s in good health and operating normally.”