ESA’s⁣ Proba-3 Mission Creates Artificial Solar Eclipses on‌ Demand

Updated June 19,​ 2025
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for centuries, astronomers have relied on ⁤rare solar eclipses for a glimpse of the Sun’s corona.Now, the European space Agency (ESA) is engineering its own.

The ESA’s Proba-3 ⁢mission features two satellites working in tandem to manufacture solar eclipses in⁢ space. ⁤This innovative approach is transforming solar⁤ observation, allowing scientists unprecedented access to the Sun’s outer layers.

Launched Dec. 5, 2024, by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from ‌the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, ⁤the Proba-3 mission ‍uses a PSLV-C59 rocket to achieve its unique objective.

One ‌satellite, known as the ⁢Occulter, blocks sunlight with a 1.4-meter disk. The other, the Coronagraph, trails 150 meters behind, capturing images of the‌ Sun’s corona, a region normally obscured⁤ by the Sun’s intense brightness.This precise alignment creates an artificial eclipse lasting ‌up to six hours, multiple ⁢times per week.