Near-Sun landing: NASA's probe will achieve what no spacecraft has done before (video).

In December, NASA's solar probe "Parker" will make an incredible close approach to the Sun at the highest speed ever achieved by any spacecraft in history. However, before that, the probe needs to complete its seventh flyby of Venus, as reported by Space.

The "Parker" solar probe, which is studying our star, will finish its seventh flyby of Venus on Wednesday, November 6. This will enable it to approach the Sun at an unprecedented distance, closer than any spacecraft has ever been. Around December 24, the NASA probe will come within just over 6 million km of the Sun, setting a new record for any spacecraft.

Additionally, the "Parker" solar probe will touch the surface of the Sun, specifically the photosphere or the visible part of our star's atmosphere, at a record speed of 692,010 km/h. No man-made device has ever reached such speeds. Whether the probe can survive such a close encounter with the Sun will be revealed to NASA scientists only on December 27.

Scientists involved in this mission state that this close approach of the probe to the Sun equates to nearly landing on our star. This will mark a significant achievement for humanity in space, comparable to the first moon landing by astronauts in 1969.

The "Parker" solar probe was launched into space 6 years ago to uncover the main mysteries of the Sun. For example, it aims to understand why the outermost part of our star's atmosphere, the solar corona, becomes hotter than the Sun's surface with altitude. Over these years, the NASA probe has already come closer to solving not only this mystery but many others as well. To enable the "Parker" solar probe to approach the Sun closely, it must utilize gravitational assistance from Venus.

Although the spacecraft is designed to study the Sun, during its close flybys of Venus, it has gathered a wealth of valuable scientific data about this planet. For instance, in 2020, scientists discovered that the probe's camera can see the surface of Venus through its very thick and dense clouds. The camera successfully distinguished various surface features and collected different data about Venus, which remains a poorly understood world.

NASA scientists hope that after completing the seventh flyby of Venus at an altitude of 376 km, the "Parker" solar probe's camera will also provide new valuable data about the second planet from the Sun.