On December 4, 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched its innovative Proba-3 mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India. This mission aims to create artificial solar eclipses to study the Sun's corona, its outer atmosphere, in unprecedented detail.
Proba-3 consists of two satellites: one equipped with a coronagraph for high-quality imaging of the solar corona, and the other acting as an occluder. These satellites will fly in precise formation, simulating solar eclipses for approximately 1,500 hours over the mission's 18-month duration.
The mission, with a budget of around 200 million euros, is a significant engineering feat, requiring the satellites to maintain a millimeter-level precision in their formation while orbiting Earth at speeds between 1 and 10 kilometers per second. This level of precision is crucial for capturing detailed observations of the corona, which is the source of solar phenomena like coronal mass ejections that can impact Earth's magnetosphere.
Understanding the dynamics of the solar corona is vital for improving space weather predictions, which can affect communications and power systems on Earth. This mission not only enhances our knowledge of solar activity but also demonstrates advanced technologies that could pave the way for future space infrastructures, such as large-scale telescopes made up of multiple satellites.
Proba-3 represents a major step forward in astronomical research and collaborative space missions, highlighting the importance of international cooperation in advancing our understanding of the universe.