Proba-3: when two satellites are better than one
An artist has made this picture of what the two Proba-3 satellites will look like once they are positioned in space. Credit: ESA-P. Carril.
05 December 2024
What if two satellites could float in space, 144 meters apart, but work together so perfectly that they behave like one giant machine? That is the goal of ESA’s new Proba-3 mission, which has just launched on a quest to unlock the secrets of our Sun!
Our mysterious Sun
Have you ever witnessed a solar eclipse? When the Moon blocks the Sun, it reveals the Sun’s faint outer atmosphere, called the corona. This mysterious region is millions of degrees hotter than the Sun’s surface — a puzzle that scientists are trying to solve. Huge explosions called Coronal Mass Ejections also blast out from the corona, causing problems for astronauts, satellites, and even power grids on Earth. However, the corona is a million times fainter than the Sun, and is only visible for a few minutes during a solar eclipse. This makes studying it very difficult.
Enter the Proba-3 mission! It is a pair of satellites that will soon begin working together to solve this challenge.
- The Occulter satellite has a large circular disc to block the Sun’s dazzling light, creating an artificial eclipse that will be seen by its partner.
- The Coronagraph satellite carries a special telescope to study the Sun’s corona in detail.
Together, these innovative satellites will create long-lasting eclipses in space, allowing scientists to observe the corona for up to six hours at a time!
This photo shows both the Occulter and Coronagraph satellites being tested. Look at their size compared engineers working on them – are the satellites bigger or smaller than you expected? Credit: ESA - P. Sebirot.
3, 2, 1 – lift off!
Launching two satellites into space was not easy, but ESA planned everything to perfection. Proba-3 blasted off aboard India’s powerful PSLV-XL rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, a famous spaceport in India.
Now safely in space, the two satellites are heading into an orbit that stretches 60,000 kilometres away from Earth – far enough to get a perfect uninterrupted view of the Sun. After a short setup period, the satellites will begin their incredible “space ballet”, flying in formation to perform their experiments.
Watching Proba-3 leave Earth on its journey to study the Sun was an exciting event for space enthusiasts worldwide. Soon, the real science will begin!
Cool fact: Proba-3 is like a carefully choreographed space dance, with the two satellites flying exactly 144 metres apart, precise to just a few millimetres. This makes it the world’s first precision formation flying mission!
