Cutting-edge heat shield installed on Parker Solar Probe: NASA

Photo shows an artist's conception of the Parker Solar Probe, the first spacecraft of America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that is expected to fly to the sun. On June 27, 2018, a heat shield, the Thermal Protection System was installed on the probe, as it is designed to protect the probe during its travel through the sun's corona to reach as close as 4 million miles from the sun's surface. NASA is reportedly planning to launch the probe in August, 2018. [File Photo: AFP/Johns Hopkins APL]