The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA's Parker Solar Probe. Photo: Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images
NASA's Parker Solar Probe lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 3:31 a.m. Sunday on a mission to get within 3.8 million miles of the Sun's surface, reports the AP.
Why it matters: If successful, the Parker probe will become the first spacecraft to enter the sun's corona and the fastest-moving man-made object in history, traveling at a record-breaking 430,000 mph by 2024 and 2025.