Nasa probe flies closer to the sun than any aircraft

NASA's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history on Tuesday, flying closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures of more than 930 degrees Celsius (1,700 degrees Fahrenheit).

Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space-weather events that can affect life on Earth.

Tuesday's historic fly-by should have occurred at precisely 6.53 a.m. (5.23 p.m. IST), although mission scientists will have to wait until Friday for confirmation as they lose contact with the craft for several days due to its proximity to the Sun.

If the distance between Earth and the Sun is the equivalent to the length of an American football field, the spacecraft should have been about four yards (meters) from the end zone at the moment of closest approach - known as perihelion.