Launch probability: 95%

Flying into the Sun’s atmosphere (or corona) for the first time. Coming closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe will employ a combination of in situ measurements and imaging to achieve the mission’s primary scientific goal: to understand how the Sun’s corona is heated and how the solar wind is accelerated.

Mission type: Heliophysics · Orbit: Heliocentric N/A

Rocket: Delta IV Heavy · Provider: United Launch Alliance