For the first time in history, a spacecraft has touched the Sun. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has now flown through the Sun’s upper atmosphere – the corona – and sampled particles and magnetic fields there.

The first passage through the corona, which lasted only a few hours, is one of many planned for the mission, which launched in 2018. Parker will continue to spiral closer to the Sun, eventually reaching as close as 8.86 solar radii (3.83 million miles) from the surface.

You can read much more about the project and historic flight here.