33K views · 446 reactions | Three years after its launch, the Parker Solar Probe made its first passage through the sun's upper atmosphere. In 2018, we got a behind-the-scenes look at how NASA engineers built the probe to survive the tremendously hot journey. | NPR | Facebook

For the first time in history, a spacecraft touched the Sun. NASA’s #ParkerSolarProbe is the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona. As Parker Solar Probe flew through the corona, its WISPR instrument captured images. The spacecraft flew through structures in the corona called streamers. This milestone in 2021 will help scientists more about our closest star. #YearInReview Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/343EmFR | NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center