NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was lowered into the 40-foot-tall thermal vacuum chamber at NASA Goddard.

The spacecraft will remain in the chamber for about seven weeks, coming out in mid-March for final tests and packing before heading to Florida. Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on July 31, 2018, on a Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle.

The thermal vacuum chamber simulates the harsh conditions that Parker Solar Probe will experience on its journey through space, including near-vacuum conditions and severe hot and cold temperatures

Parker Solar Probe is slowly lifted and carried to the top of the thermal vacuum chamber, which will simulate the airless environment of space, in addition to conducting intense hot and cold temperature testing.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe descends into the thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The spacecraft will be inside the chamber for about seven weeks.

Engineers and technicians from the Parker Solar Probe team monitor the descent of the spacecraft into the thermal vacuum chamber.