NASA said its Parker Solar Probe is "safe" and operating normally after successfully completing the closest approach to the sun by any human-made object.
The spacecraft passed just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the sun's surface on December 24, flying through the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona, in a mission that will help scientists learn more about the closest star to Earth.
The mission team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland received a signal from the probe, known as a beacon tone, shortly before midnight Thursday, the agency said.
NASA added that the spacecraft will send detailed telemetry data on its position on January 1.
NASA said the spacecraft, traveling at 430,000 mph (692,000 kph), withstood temperatures of up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius).
The Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 and is gradually orbiting the sun, using Venus's flybys to pull it into a tight orbit with the sun.
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