NASA Unveils Historic First Mission to the Corona

NASA aims to uncover the secrets of the sun and answer long-mystifying questions about our nearest star next summer when it sends a spacecraft through blistering heat — at equally blistering speeds — to reach the sun for the first time.

The spacecraft will travel 430,000 miles per hour and battle temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit within the sun’s corona, the research team behind the historic journey said at a news conference Wednesday.