NPR

NASA Braves The Heat to Get Up Close and Personal With Our Sun

A new NASA probe will get closer to our sun than ever before, to try to solve mysteries like why its atmosphere is so much hotter than its surface.
Artist's concept of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the sun. Launching in 2018, Parker Solar Probe will provide new data on solar activity and make critical contributions to our ability to forecast major space-weather events that impact life on Earth.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR6 min read
Shipbuilders Harness The Wind To Clean Up Global Shipping
Container ships use heavy fuel oil called bunker fuel. They’re more efficient than trains, trucks and planes. But bunker fuel is highly polluting, and container ships produce about 3% of the world’s emissions.
NPR4 min read
How Do You Build Without Over Polluting? That's The Challenge Of New Catan Board Game
A new version of the popular board game Catan aims to make players wrestle with a 21st-century problem: How do you develop and expand without overly polluting the planet?
NPR4 min readCrime & Violence
Heated Arguments At The Supreme Court In Newest Abortion Case
At issue is a clash between federal and state law about how pregnant women must be treated in the emergency room.