Context: The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission is scheduled to be launched on ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on December 4, 2024.
Relevance of the topic: Prelims- Key features of Proba-3 mission.
About Proba-3 mission
- Proba-3 is the world’s first precision formation flying mission, involving two satellites to be placed in a highly elliptical orbit that extends up to 60,000 km from Earth.
- Aim: To demonstrate precision formation flying between two satellites and study the Sun's corona (the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere).
- Launch vehicle: PSLV-XL
- Mission of: European Space Agency.
Key Features:
- Proba-3 has two satellites- Coronagraph spacecraft and the Occulter spacecraft flying in a parallel formation at distances of 144 metres from each other for six hours a day.
- The satellites will demonstrate Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre to ensure they do not collide or run away from each other.
- The two satellites will work in tandem to study the Sun's corona and measure its energy output with unprecedented precision.
- The Occulter will position itself between the Coronagraph and the Sun, creating an artificial eclipse (casting a shadow) over the Coronagraph’s telescope.
- The shadow blocks the Sun’s direct light and allows the Coronagraph to observe the Sun's faint corona.
- The Occulter's continuous Sun-facing position makes it an ideal platform for additional scientific instruments. It consists of Davos Absolute Radiometer (DARA) which will provide continuous measurements of the Sun's total energy output (total solar irradiance).
Benefits of precision formation flying mission:
- Instead of using a single satellite accommodating both Occulter and Coronagraph, they are placed on two separate satellites that will work in tandem. This ensures:
- Instruments larger than those typically accommodated on a single satellite can be deployed.
- Scientists can observe fainter signals from smaller or more distant solar and astrophysical features, broadening the scope of space-based observations.
Significance:
- Provide new insights into:
- Sun's corona.
- Origins of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and their impact on Earth's climate.
- Measures total solar irradiance, track changes in the Sun’s energy output, long-term solar energy trends and their potential effects on our planet's climate.