Europe's Proba-3 Mission: Using Two Spacecraft to Study Solar Eclipses

Europe's Proba-3 mission, launched from India, aims to mimic solar eclipses using two spacecraft. The mission, managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), will study the Sun’s corona by having one spacecraft cast a shadow on the other. This is done by flying them in precise formation, creating an artificial eclipse. The spacecraft pair, named Occulter and Coronagraph, were launched on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. They will orbit in a highly elliptical path, with the Occulter casting a shadow from about 150 meters away for up to six hours at a time. This allows scientists to study the Sun's corona without atmospheric interference. Natural solar eclipses last only a few minutes, but these artificial eclipses can be extended for hours. The mission hopes to improve models for predicting solar wind and coronal mass ejections, which can affect satellites and Earth-based systems. The mission also includes instruments like the Digital Absolute Radiometer (DARA) and the 3D Energetic Electron Spectrometer (3DEES). Teams will test the equipment and aim to get the first images of the solar corona within three months. Proba-3 is a technological demonstration mission that took over a decade to develop. It involves companies from 14 ESA member states and could pave the way for future multi-satellite systems. The mission is expected to last two years, with the satellites re-entering the atmosphere after five years, showing ESA's commitment to space sustainability.