WASHINGTON NASA 's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history on Dec. 24, flying closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 930 degrees Celsius. Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space -weather events that can affect life on Earth. Tuesday's historic flyby should have occurred at precisely 11:53 am GMT, although mission scientists will