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The Fastest Spacecraft Ever, NASA’s Parker Space Probe

The fastest manmade object ever, NASA’s Parker Space Probe, hurtled toward our Sun at 700,000 kilometers per hour. Its mission: to learn about particle and solar wind acceleration in the Sun’s corona, its shifting outer layer of plasma. It was launched in August 2018 and had to overcome many obstacles even before takeoff—including weight, size, and preparation for radiation and acute variation in temperature. Watch the “Science in the Extremes” video at MSN to learn more about its revolutionary heat shield, testing and orbital paths.

Via msn.com link opens in a new window

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