NASA’s going sunbathing. Next week it will fire a spacecraft towards the Sun
to soak up particles from the solar wind. And to ensure a soft landing for the
precious samples, two specially equipped helicopters will snatch the probe out
of the air as it returns to Earth.
The solar wind flows continuously from the Sun into space. Its mix of charged
particles comes from the outer layers of the Sun and reflects their composition,
which has hardly changed in the 5 billion years since the Sun formed from a
cloud of gas and dust. “By sending this craft into…
