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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A NASA spacecraft made its first approach to the sun, just two and a half months after takeoff.
Parker's solar probe flew over Monday night less than 24 million kilometers from the sun's surface. Its speed is greater than 342,000 km / h (213,000 mph) compared to the sun, as it enters the outer solar atmosphere, or crown.
No spaceship has ever been so close to our star.
NASA will not restore contact until Parker is sufficiently far from the sun to avoid radio interference. NASA's Nicola Fox says the scientists "can not wait to get the data." The observations could unlock some of the mysteries of the sun.
Assuming that it survives the rigorous solar environment, the satellite will perform 23 even closer approaches over the next seven years. The next is in April.
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