European Satellites launched to create artificial Solar Eclipses

In a groundbreaking mission, a pair of European satellites launched from India on Thursday, marking the first attempt to create artificial solar eclipses in space. The mission, aimed at advancing solar research, is expected to offer unprecedented insights into the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona.

Dubbed Proba-3, the $210 million mission seeks to provide extended artificial eclipses lasting up to six hours, far surpassing the few minutes of totality seen during natural solar eclipses on Earth. Scientists will use these extended eclipses to study the corona and phenomena like coronal mass ejections, which are massive eruptions of solar plasma.

“This has a huge scientific relevance in addition to testing high-precision formation flying,” said Dietmar Pilz, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) technology and engineering director.

The satellites, each less than 5 feet (1.5 meters) across, will separate in space and align 492 feet (150 meters) apart. This arrangement allows one satellite to cast a shadow on the other, mimicking the moon during a natural eclipse. Achieving such precision, down to one millimeter, requires advanced technology including GPS, star trackers, lasers, and radio links.

“This is an exciting step for solar research,” said Joe Zender, ESA’s mission scientist.

The mission aims to answer lingering questions about the sun’s corona, including why it is hotter than the sun’s surface and how coronal mass ejections form. Such solar events can disrupt power grids and communication systems on Earth but also create stunning auroras.

Eclipses will be generated twice a week, with each lasting six hours, providing researchers with over 1,000 hours of “on-demand” totality during the two-year mission. This contrasts with the brief totality seen during natural eclipses, which often require scientists to travel the globe for just a few minutes of observation.

The satellites will operate in a lopsided orbit ranging from 370 miles (600 kilometers) to 37,000 miles (60,000 kilometers) above Earth. Each orbit will take nearly 20 hours, with six of those hours dedicated to creating eclipses at the farther end.

The first eclipse results are expected by March, following the checkout of both spacecraft.

The mission faced a minor delay due to a last-minute issue with one satellite’s backup propulsion system, which was resolved with a software fix. Once the mission concludes, the satellites will gradually descend and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere within five years.

As the mission progresses, scientists hope Proba-3 will pave the way for more advanced studies of our sun, unlocking secrets of the solar system and safeguarding Earth against space weather disruptions.