Two European satellites were launched into space on Thursday from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, the spaceport on the southern coast of India. The goal of the “Proba-3” mission is to create artificial solar eclipses through precise formation flights, which allow precise study of the solar corona.
“Proba-3” is a demonstration mission; With the technology used in this project, the researchers hope to obtain significantly more data about the corona – the outer atmosphere of the Sun. For the first time, the satellite duo will fly through space in a formation flight with an accuracy of millimeters apart.
According to ESA, the twin satellite is the most ambitious part of the ‘Proba’ series of experimental missions to date. The two small probes would fly together as one, according to the European Space Agency.
Satellites are designed to simulate solar eclipses
Because of the sun’s bright and blinding light, the corona is only visible during a total solar eclipse, when the moon blocks the sun’s light from the part of the Earth that is in shadow.
This is exactly what the two satellites, which together weigh 550 kilograms, are supposed to simulate. They are believed to move in a large, elliptical orbit around the Earth. The closest distance from the orbit to Earth is 600 kilometers, the furthest point is about 60,000 kilometers away.
Austria is also involved in the mission
“Proba-3” could provide the first images of the solar corona in March next year. A total of fourteen ESA countries – including Austria and Switzerland – are involved in the two-year mission.
Source: Krone
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