CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA will fly you to the sun — or at least your name.
Now until April 27, NASA is accepting online submissions for this hottest ticket in town. The names will be sent on the Parker Solar Probe all the way to the sun.
Once launched this summer from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the probe will eventually come within 4 million miles of our star, closer than any other spacecraft. Temperatures will reach 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,300 degrees Celsius), as the spacecraft zips in and out of this atmospheric hot zone. Until now, the materials for such a grueling journey were unavailable.
Actor William Shatner, who portrayed Capt. James Kirk in the old “Star Trek” TV series, is NASA’s pitchman for the send-your-name-to-the-sun campaign.