Getting close to the Sun poses significant challenges due to the extreme heat and radiation. The Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, has temperatures in the millions of degrees Celsius (or Kelvin), while the surface is around 5,500 degrees Celsius (9,932 degrees Fahrenheit). Approaching the Sun requires advanced technology to withstand such harsh conditions.

Currently, the closest any spacecraft has come to the Sun is NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which launched in 2018. The Parker Solar Probe is designed to get within about 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometers) of the Sun’s surface. Even with its advanced heat shield, the spacecraft experiences temperatures that could melt common spacecraft materials.

Human survival in close proximity to the Sun is currently beyond our technological capabilities. The extreme heat and radiation would be lethal to both the human body and most materials we currently use for spacecraft. Developing the technology to withstand such conditions is a considerable challenge and may be the subject of future space exploration endeavors.