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Asked by igloo23 to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 15 Mar 2012.
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Adam Stevens answered on 14 Mar 2012:
It would depend on what they were wearing – we can’t really withstand temperatures higher than about 40 degrees for very long.
But it would be possible, if you had very reflective material protecting you, to get fairly close.
However, if you got really close even the most reflective surface isn’t going to be enough.
One of the reasons for this is that the radiation from the sun is inverse square, which means if you went twice and close, the radiation would be 4 times as much!
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Leila Battison answered on 15 Mar 2012:
The closer you wanted to get, the more and more protection you would have to put in the way. You certainly wouldn’t be able to have any windows, because the brightness would blind you, and then what’s the point in saying you’ve been to the sun if you can’t take pictures!
The most insulating material we have can withstand temperatures of about 1000 degrees, which would get you a bit closer to the sun than Mercury, but nowhere near its outer layer.
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Karen Masters answered on 18 Mar 2012:
Not very close – it’s very hot. Even at the distance of Mercury we’d be in trouble….
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Nazim Bharmal answered on 18 Mar 2012:
In a space-craft with a lot of shielding, not much closer than Mercury would be my guess. So not near anything you could call the edge of the sun. The problem is the heat and radiation. A better idea is to send a space probe.
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