NASA to reveal 'key details' about its first 'touch the sun' mission tomorrow
New Delhi : NASA is likely to reveal key information about its first mission to fly into the atmosphere of the sun on May 31, 2017. The mission is likely to be launched in August next year.
Experts believe that the device can withstand temperatures of 1400 degrees Celsius. To do this, it provides a heat shield thickness of 11.5 cm. It will be made of composite metal with the addition of carbon fiber.
Jonathan Lunine, the director of the Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science at Cornell University, expects we’ll see incredible detail of the dynamic solar atmosphere.
News Agency ANI quotes Lunine, "will pass within four million miles of the Sun – that’s almost eight times closer to the Sun than the orbit of Mercury – and provide incredible detail on the dynamic solar atmosphere."
"will fly closer to the Sun than the distance at which even close-in exoplanets orbit their own Suns, giving us unprecedented information on the kinds of environments these planets experience," he noted.
The mission has been aimed to get more information by entering the sun atmosphere. NASA is going to get even more up close and personal with the Sun's corona than Helios 2, and blow its record out of the sky.
When and where to watch the announcement by NASA?
The revelations about NASA's first mission to touch the sun will be broadcasted live onto NASA TV on Wednesday, 3pm Greenwich Mean Time (11am Eastern Daylight Time; 1am Australian Eastern Standard Time).
