Icarus II

Fall of Icarus   (Merry-Joseph Blondel, 1819)

Icarus I was the stuff that legends are made of.  He flew too close to the sun, his wings melted, and he crashed back down to earth.

But if at first you don’t succeed - try, try again.  Which is exactly what NASA’s been doing with its Parker Solar Probe.  This hardy spacecraft recently did what Icarus couldn’t: entered the sun’s atmosphere successfully.

And there will be an Icarus III come January 2022.  The little-craft-that-could will then get way closer to the sun’s surface.  Hopefully it will fare better than its mythological predecessor.   

Resources

https://www.iheart.com/content/2021-12-15-nasa-probe-makes-history-as-the-first-spacecraft-to-touch-the-sun/?mid=764923&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline4

Copyright December 16, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved