NASA craft ‘touches’ sun for 1st time, dives into atmosphere

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft has officially “touched” the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona. Scientists announced the news Tuesday. The Parker Solar Probe actually flew through the corona in April during the spacecraft’s eighth close approach to the sun. Scientists say it took a few months to get the data back and then several more months to confirm it. The spacecraft was 8 million miles from the center of the sun when it first crossed the uneven boundary between the solar atmosphere and outgoing solar wind. It will keep drawing ever closer to the sun and diving deeper iver the next 3 1/2 years.