We already have images of the first artificial solar eclipse in history and Spain has been key to achieving it.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission launched successfully in December last year from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, to study the Sun’s inner corona. The primary objective of this spacecraft is to create artificial solar eclipses , allowing scientists to study the Sun’s corona without interference from its bright disc. Other purposes include conducting general formation flying experiments and demonstrating a new method of operations.

To demonstrate the validity of Proba-3, the mission's two satellites, capable of flying as a single spacecraft thanks to a suite of onboard positioning technologies, recently managed to create their first 'artificial total solar eclipse' in orbit .

The images demonstrate the potential of formation flying technologies, while providing invaluable scientific data to improve our understanding of the Sun and its enigmatic atmosphere. They also offer a glimpse into the valuable data ESA can expect from this mission.

What instrument took the photographs

The ASPIICS (Association of Spacecraft Polarimetric and Imaging Surveys of the Sun's Corona) instrument was developed for ESA and, when its five-centimeter aperture is shaded, can capture images of the Sun's corona uninterrupted by bright sunlight.

On the other hand, ASPIICS is studying the corona very close to the Sun's surface, taking into account that it can observe more details thanks to a reduction in the amount of "lost" light reaching the detector.

Why the Sun's inner corona is studied

Observing the corona is essential to reveal the solar wind , because it is the continuous flow of matter from the Sun into outer space.

The solar corona holds "many mysteries associated with it, starting with the counterintuitive fact that the corona is over a million degrees hotter than the surface of the Sun below it," ESA notes in its FAQ blog . The inner corona is therefore a major focus of scientific research and study to improve our understanding of the Sun and to understand the origin of solar weather , coronal mass ejections or solar storms that can affect the functioning of satellites or communication and power networks on Earth.

This mission is also necessary to understand how coronal mass ejections work , the explosions of particles that the sun sends out almost daily and that are reflected in auroras in the night sky.

Spain's role in this mission

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU) indicates on its official website that Spain contributed nearly 40% of the mission's budget through ESA's General Support Technology Programme.

Sener is the main company leading and developing this project , with other Spanish entities participating in the project including Airbus Defence and Space, GMV Space and Defence, and Deimos. Therefore, all of these companies are responsible for some of the most relevant and technologically significant functions, "such as leading the overall design, developing navigation algorithms, and designing a complete satellite."

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