Parker Solar Probe Mission
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission is the most ambitious robotic mission to be implemented by NASA. PSP will fly to within 8.86 solar radii (Rs) above the solar surface making it mankind’s first object to enter a star’s atmosphere. This is not the only unique aspect of the PSP mission. It will obtain its first observations from 35 Rs, already uncharted territory, within just three months from launch. The 7-year prime phase of the mission includes not just one but three close perihelion passages at 9.86 Rs from the center of the Sun.