http://www.newsweek.com/parker-solar-probe-nasa-mission-touch-sun-set-launch-1037940

Next month, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking the beginning of a seven-year mission during which the spacecraft will travel closer to the Sun than any other man-made object.

The car-sized probe, which is equipped with a host of state-of-the-art instruments, will come within 4 million miles of the Sun's photosphere—the lowest layer of its atmosphere—providing scientists with an unprecedented opportunity to study the star. The data collected will make critical contributions to our ability to forecast major space-weather events that impact life on Earth.