Proba-3 Mission:
The European Space Agency (Esa) has lost contact with one of the two spacecraft powering its Proba-3 mission.
- Proba-3 Mission is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first mission dedicated to precision formation flying.
- It is the innovative mission which will demonstrate precision formation flying between two satellites to create an artificial eclipse, revealing new views of the Sun’s faint corona.
- Objective is to create an artificial eclipse by precisely coordinating two independent satellites. This capability will enable scientists to observe the Sun’s corona, a region typically obscured by the intense brightness of the Sun.
- It consists of two small satellites: a Coronagraph spacecraft and a solar-disc-shaped Occulter spacecraft.
- By flying in tight formation about 150 metres apart, the Occulter will precisely cast its shadow onto the Coronagraph’s telescope, blocking the Sun’s direct light.
- This will allow the Coronagraph to image the faint solar corona in visible, ultraviolet and polarised light for many hours at a time.
- It will provide new insights into the origins of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — eruptions of solar material that can disrupt satellites and power grids on Earth.
- The mission will also measure total solar irradiance, tracking changes in the Sun’s energy output that may influence Earth’s climate.
