When the Sun strikes

In February 2022, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter captured the longest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disk.

Solar Orbiter was in the right place at the right time to catch this stunning space weather event and record observations that will help us improve our understanding of the inner workings of the Sun. But Solar Orbiter is dedicated primarily to other aspects of solar science – it won’t always have its attention on space weather.

Fortunately, this prominence was not directed at Earth. If it was, it could have damaged Earth’s infrastructure or posed a radiation threat to space explorers. To protect them and our daily life on the ground, a different mission with a new perspective on the Sun is needed.

Enter ESA Vigil, ESA’s upcoming space weather mission that will keep a continuous watch over the ‘side’ of the Sun, providing advance warnings of solar hazards before they are visible from Earth.

From its vantage point at the fifth ‘Lagrange point’ – L5 – ESA Vigil will help us forecast space weather and protect Earth’s infrastructure, satellites and inhabitants from hard to predict and violent solar events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

Protecting modern life

We are now reliant on interlinked technologies, in space and on Earth, for our everyday lives. But this infrastructure, and all that relies on it, is vulnerable.

Solar storms can damage power grids, disrupt telecommunications and threaten satellites and the vital services they provide. At the same time, as we launch ever-more satellites into orbit, we are also creating increasing amounts of debris, dramatically increasing the risk of collision for current and future missions: our success in space could be our downfall.

As part of ESA’s Vision for the future, the new Protect ‘accelerator’ will ensure the resilience of technologies on which modernity depends. By detecting and providing advance warning of oncoming solar storms, we can protect our infrastructure in space and on the ground. By fostering the sustainable use of orbits around Earth – a finite and limited resource – we can ensure the benefits of space will remain accessible to future generations.