Parker Solar Probe preparations, July 2018. Parker Solar Probe being encapsulated inside its 19-metre-tall faring at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, USA, prior to its move to its launch pad. Originally called Solar Probe, and then Solar Probe Plus, this mission was renamed in May 2017 after solar astrophysicist Eugene Parker. The mission is being carried out by NASA and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The mission was launched in August 2018 on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA. The unmanned probe will approach to within 6 million kilometres of the solar surface (photosphere) using a solar shield for protection. Photographed on 19 July 2018.