NASA's Parker Solar Probe has already flown pretty close to the sun — and it's about to do it again.
The car-sized satellite will make a close pass by the sun on Thursday evening, reaching a distance of 15 million miles from the sun's surface, Astronomy reported. This will be the second time it reaches this distance, out of a planned 24 orbits in which it will get closer and closer. By the last orbit, it will reach a distance of just 3.83 million miles. Each time, it will be breaking its own record for the closest we've ever gotten to our closest star; the last record was set by the Helios 2 mission, which tapped out at 27 million miles.
The probe, which was initially launched in August 2018, was built to endure the searing heat and extreme radiation in proximity to the sun. But being this far from the Earth still presents some complications: For one, it hasn't been in communication with us since March 30, and it won't be able to relay back all the data it collects until April 10. But when it is able to communicate again, its data will help answer vital questions, including information on the workings of solar wind, and the puzzling heat of the sun's corona.
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The Parker Solar Probe will reach its closest distance at approximately 6:40 p.m. EST. While you can't break out your telescope and get a look at the historic moment, you can read more about it at Astronomy.
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