Proba-3 Achieves First Artificial Solar Eclipse, Unveiling Sun's Corona
2025-06-20
The European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission has achieved a major breakthrough, successfully creating the world's first artificial total solar eclipse in orbit using two precisely-formed satellites. The resulting images of the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, demonstrate the capabilities of formation flying technology while providing invaluable scientific data. The mission's ASPIICS instrument captures unprecedented detail of the corona, while DARA measures total solar irradiance. This achievement helps scientists unravel mysteries about the Sun's corona, such as its unexpectedly high temperatures, and will improve space weather forecasting models.
Tech
Formation Flying