WE’VE now ventured closer to the Sun than we’ve ever been.

And NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, travelling at more than 240,000km/h, isn’t yet done with setting new records.

The probe, launched in August, is now closer to the sun than any spacecraft has ever been.

Parker surpassed the record of 43 million kilometres set by Helios-2 back in 1976.

And it will keep getting closer to the sun until it flies through the corona, or outer atmosphere, for the first time next week, passing within 24 million kilometres of the solar surface.

Parker will make 24 close approaches to the sun over the next seven years, ultimately coming within just six million kilometres.

Launched in August, Parker is on track to set another record late on Monday night. It will surpass Helios-2's speed record of 247,000 km/h, relative to the sun.

For the record, the Sun is about 149.6 million kilometres from Earth.