Parker Solar Probe makes historic pass through Sun’s atmosphere

The US space agency (Nasa) is calling it a historic moment – the first time a spacecraft has flown through the outer atmosphere of the Sun.

The feat was achieved by the Parker Solar Probe, which dipped, for just a short while, into a region around our star that scientists call the corona.

It occurred in April, but the analysis of data has only now confirmed it.

Parker had to withstand intense heat and radiation but gathered new insights on how the Sun works.