NASA is on a mission to
'touch the Sun'
NASA's Parker Solar Probe is set to pass the Sun on 24 December 2024.
It's due to fly past the sun at 195 km/s, or 435,000 mph.
"We are basically almost landing on a star," a scientist on the project said.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe is set to pass the Sun next year in a milestone moment for space exploration.
The probe, launched on Aug 12, 2018, is due to fly past the sun at 195 km/s, or 435,000 mph on 24 December 2024
NASA describes it as a mission to ""touch the Sun" on its website, aiming to get our "first-ever sampling of a star's atmosphere."
"We are basically almost landing on a star," Nour Raouafi, a scientist on the project, told the BBC.
"This will be a monumental achievement for all humanity.
This is equivalent to the Moon landing of 1969," he said.