NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is now closer to the Sun than any spacecraft has ever been before.
The probe surpassed the record of 26.6 million miles set by Helios-2 in 1976, the space firm announced on Tuesday.
It will keep getting closer to the star until it flies through the corona for the first time next week, passing within 15 million miles of the solar surface.
It will then, as the US space agency describes it, "touch the sun" as it flies up to its atmosphere.
Parker will make 24 close approaches to the sun over the next seven years, ultimately coming within just 3.8 million miles, NASA said.
Its mission will help scientists unlock the mysteries of the sun's atmosphere and answer questions like why its corona, the outermost layer of the solar atmosphere, is hotter than its surface.
The probe travels at 430,000 miles an hour, faster than any spacecraft in history, and uses Venus's gravity over the course of seven years to gradually bring its orbit closer to the sun.
The spacecraft will make use of an 8ft-long heat shield known as the Thermal Protection System (TPS).
This has been made using a carbon composite coated with ceramic to cope with the extreme conditions and temperature fluctuations.
ASA said the TPS has been tested to withstand up to 1,650C temperatures and "can handle any heat the sun can send its way".
