Proba-3 Mission

About Proba-3 Mission:

• It is the European Space Agency's (ESA) first mission dedicated to precision formation flying.
• It is the innovative mission which will demonstrate precision formation flying between two satellites to create an artificial eclipse, revealing new views of the Sun’s faint corona.
• The core objective of the mission is to create an artificial eclipse by precisely coordinating two independent satellites. This capability will enable scientists to observe the Sun's corona, a region typically obscured by the intense brightness of the Sun. 
• It consists of two small satellites — a Coronagraph spacecraft and a solar-disc-shaped Occulter spacecraft.
• Working
  • By flying in tight formation about 150 metres apart, the Occulter will precisely cast its shadow onto the Coronagraph’s telescope, blocking the Sun’s direct light.
  • This will allow the Coronagraph to image the faint solar corona in visible, ultraviolet and polarised light for many hours at a time.
  • It will provide new insights into the origins of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — eruptions of solar material that can disrupt satellites and power grids on Earth.
  • The mission will also measure total solar irradiance, tracking changes in the Sun’s energy output that may influence Earth’s climate.

Q1: What are Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)?

CMEs are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the sun's atmosphere—the corona, that propagate outward into interplanetary space. During a CME, the sun releases a colossal amount of material, including electrons, protons, and heavier ions, as well as magnetic fields.

News: Europe's Proba-3 mission to arrive in India for launch aboard PSLV-XL by Isro