ESA's Proba-3 Satellites Launch to Create Artificial Solar Eclipses

The mission, launched from India, will study the Sun's corona using groundbreaking precision formation flying technology.

Proba-3, a European Space Agency mission, launched aboard ISRO's PSLV-XL rocket from India on December 5, 2024, after a one-day delay due to a propulsion system anomaly.
The mission features two satellites that will fly 150 meters apart with millimeter-level precision to mimic total solar eclipses, enabling extended observations of the Sun's corona.
Each artificial eclipse will last up to six hours, significantly longer than natural eclipses, providing unique opportunities to study the corona's extreme heat and solar wind acceleration.
The $210 million mission will operate in a highly elliptical orbit for two years, aiming to create over 1,000 artificial eclipses and gather data on coronal mass ejections and space weather phenomena.
Proba-3 also serves as a technology demonstration for precision formation flying, which could be applied to future missions like exoplanet detection and space debris removal.