‘Uncharted Territory’: NASA Kicks Off Christmas With Record-Breaking Pass by the Sun

‘No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star,’ says one of the mission’s operators.

Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins APL/NASA via AP
This image made available by NASA shows an artist's rendering of the Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. It's designed to take solar punishment like never before, thanks to its revolutionary heat shield that's capable of withstanding 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Steve Gribben/Johns Hopkins APL/NASA via AP

NASA is set to make history this Christmas Eve after attempting its nearest ever flyby of the sun.

The space agency’s Parker Solar probe was supposed to approach within 3.8 million miles of the sun’s surface, a record-breaking distance, at 6:53 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. During the approach, the probe will be out of contact with Earth “due to constraints on signal transmission” so close to the sun’s surface. 

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