Parker Solar Probe Prepared For Launch

Technicians and engineers prepare to mate NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler Arizona.
The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun’s atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson Larger image