Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe survives closest-ever approach to Sun

A Nasa spacecraft has made history by surviving the closest-ever approach to the Sun.

Scientists received a signal from the Parker Solar Probe just before midnight EST on Thursday (05:00 GMT on Friday) after it had been out of communication for several days during its burning-hot fly-by.

Nasa said the probe was “safe” and operating normally after it passed just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the solar surface.

The probe plunged into our star’s outer atmosphere on Christmas Eve, enduring brutal temperatures and extreme radiation in a quest to better our understanding of how the Sun works.