The Proba-3 mission of the European Space Agency takes off tomorrow from India with two satellites that will simulate eclipses on demand to deepen the study of the tenuous atmosphere that surrounds the Sun – the corona -, which is only visible from Earth for brief moments when a solar eclipse occurs natural.
Two ships, one with a “coronograph” to capture very high quality images of the Sun’s corona and another that will act as an “occultator”, must fly in formation and with millimeter precision while orbiting the Earth at a speed that will oscillate between 1 and 10 kilometers per second; characteristics that according to those responsible for the mission represent a milestone for astronomy and space engineering.
The launch is scheduled for 11:45 GMT tomorrow from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, near the Indian city of Chennaiwhere during the last few days it has passed the previous tests and the two satellites have been docked with a launcher from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that has the necessary power to ascend up to 60,000 kilometers from the Earth before settling at only 600 kilometers.
The ESA Proba-3 mission, with a budget of around 200 million euros, is led by the Spanish company Sener, and some forty companies from sixteen countries are involved, including the multinationals Airbus Defense and Space in Spain, GMV, Deimos, HV Sistemas, Inventia or Thales Alenia Space in Spain, in addition to Spanish institutions and organizations such as the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Center for Development Technological and Industrial (CDTI) or the Spanish Space Agency (AEE).
Why is it important to study the solar corona?
Because the corona is the source of much of the solar activity and can influence the Earth; in particular, The so-called “body mass ejections” are ejections of solar plasma that carry a lot of material into planetary space, including magnetic field and charged particles, explained ESA scientist Anik de Groff in a meeting with journalists to report the details of the mission.
And because these ejecta can impact the Earth’s magnetosphere (the outer layer of the atmosphere that protects from radiation) and cause geomagnetic storms that can affect radio communications, navigation systems, satellites or electrical networksdetailed Anik de Groff, who also pointed out the “positive” side of these expulsions, since they are responsible for the northern lights.
The Spanish Association of Defense, Security, Aeronautics and Space Technology Companies (TEDAE) has valued the important Spanish participation in this mission of the European Space Agency, has celebrated the leadership of the Spanish space industry and its increasingly relevant role in the international programs and has stressed that it will also be the first ESA mission in which precise formation flight technology will be used.
When in orbit, the two Proba-3 satellites will provide prolonged observation of the Sun’s tenuous surrounding atmosphere (its corona), which until now was only visible for brief moments in terrestrial solar eclipses.
To achieve this, the shadow that is projected between both satellites must remain in a precise position, which means that they must fly autonomously and in formation with a precision of just one millimeter – the thickness of a fingernail.
Will not leave a trace of space junk
One of the ships will carry an instrument (coronograph) to capture high-quality images of the Sun’s corona and the other (which will act as an “occulter”) will stand between it and the star to create artificial eclipses “on demand”; Each of them will also function as an autonomous and intelligent robot capable of calculating its position and trajectory with respect to its “partner” constantly and without the support of human operators from Earth.
Proba-3 is the third mission of the European Space Agency in the PROBA (Project for On-Board Autonomy) series. to put low-cost satellites into orbit and demonstrate new and advanced very high precision technologies in flightwhich could allow in the future to develop large space infrastructures – such as telescopes – that operate with separate components and from different ships.
The satellites will orbit the Earth for approximately a year and a half, a time during which they will be able to simulate about 1,500 hours of solar eclipses, and at the end of the mission the two spacecraft will disintegrate upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, explained the engineer. ESA system Esther Bastida, who has assured that in this way and in line with the policy of the European Special Agency, no space debris will be generated.