Solar Probe will be a historic first mission, flying into one of the last unexplored regions of the solar system, the Sun's atmosphere or corona. Approaching as close as 3 R_s above the Sun's surface, Solar Probe will employ a combination of in-situ measurements and close-up imaging to achieve the mission's primary scientific goal: to understand how the Sun's corona is heated and how the solar wind is accelerated. Solar Probe will revolutionize our knowledge of the origin and evolution of the solar wind. Moreover, by making the only direct, in-situ measurements of the region where some of the deadliest solar energetic particles are energized, Solar Probe will make unique and fundamental contributions to our ability to characterize and forecast the radiation environment in which future space explorers will work and live.
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