Proba-3 Mission: "First Artificial Solar Eclipse in Space" | European Space Agency
Proba-3 artificially created what is normally a rare natural phenomenon: a total solar eclipse. In a world first, the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 satellites flew in perfect formation, blocking the Sun’s bright disc to reveal its fiery corona. This enigmatic outer layer burns millions of degrees hotter than the Sun’s surface and drives the solar storms that can disrupt life on Earth.
The Sun’s corona is the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere. The corona is usually hidden by the bright light of the Sun's surface. This makes it difficult to see without using special instruments. However, the corona can be viewed during a total solar eclipse.
With its first artificial eclipse, Proba-3 has captured detailed images of this mysterious region, offering scientists new insights into our star’s behavior.
Proba-3 maintains a fixed configuration as a ‘large rigid structure’ in a highly elliptical orbit to form an approximately 150-meter long solar coronagraph to study the Sun’s faint corona closer than ever before. Europe’s Proba-3 (Project for Onboard Anatomy) consists of two satellites—Coronagraph (310kg) and Occulter (240 kg). The pair must maintain a precise formation down to "a single millimeter" to study the corona, the sun’s outer atmosphere.
Proba-3 was launched by ISRO's PSLV-XL rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, on December 5, 2024.
Duration: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Release Date: June 16, 2025
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