• → European Space Agency

      • Space for Europe
      • Space News
      • Space in Images
      • Space in Videos
    • About Us

      • Welcome to ESA
      • DG’s blog
      • For Member State Delegations
      • Business with ESA
      • Law at ESA
      • ESA Exhibitions
      • ESA Publications
      • Careers at ESA
      • ESAshop
    • Our Activities

      • Space News
      • Observing the Earth
      • Human and Robotic Exploration
      • Space Transportation
      • Navigation
      • Space Science
      • Space Engineering & Technology
      • Operations
      • Telecommunications & Integrated Applications
      • Preparing for the Future
    • Careers at ESA

    • For Media

      • Media
      • ESA TV
      • Videos for professionals
      • Photos
    • For Educators

    • For Kids

    • ESA

    • Operations

    • Ground Systems Engineering

    • Space Debris

    • SSA

    • Ground stations

    • ESOC

    • Clean Space

    • The basics
    • About Operations
    • The Right Stuff
    • #ESOC50
    • ESOC timeline - start
    • SSA Programme

      • About SSA
      • SSA Programme overview
      • SSA team
      • SSA brochure 2018
      • SSA brochure
    • SSA activities

      • Space Weather - SWE Segment
      • Near-Earth Objects - NEO Segment
      • Space Surveillance and Tracking - SST Segment

    ESA > Our Activities > Operations > Space Situational Awareness

    Loading...
    ESA Lagrange mission animation
    Access the video

    Where no mission has gone before

    2 February 2018

    Living near a star is risky business, and positioning a spacecraft near the Sun is a very good way to observe rapidly changing solar activity and deliver early warning of possibly harmful space weather. ESA is now looking at doing just that. 

    On most days, our normally calm Sun goes about its business, delivering a steady and predictable amount of heat and light that keeps planet Earth and its humans ticking.

    But just as the Sun drives weather on Earth, solar activity is responsible for disturbances in our space environment, dubbed ‘space weather’.

    Besides emitting a continuous stream of electrically charged atomic particles, the Sun periodically sneezes out billions of tonnes of material threaded with magnetic fields in colossal-scale ‘coronal mass ejections’.

    These immense clouds of matter usually miss Earth, but if one reaches us it can disrupt Earth’s protective magnetic bubble and upper atmosphere, affecting satellites in orbit, navigation, terrestrial power grids, and data and communication networks, among other effects.

    Getting a view of the action

    ESA’s Sun-watching Proba-2 minisatellite shows the aftermath of 18 February 2014’s ‘coronal mass ejection’
    Solar loops after eruption

    Obtaining warnings of such events would be immensely helpful: a recent ESA study estimated the potential impact in Europe from a single, extreme space weather event could be about €15 billion.

    As just one example, even moderate space weather events can affect electrical power grids that supply electricity to homes, hospitals and schools. Improved warning times for larger events would allow grid operators to take measures to protect their networks and ensure continued power delivery.

    “One of the best ways to observe rapidly changing solar activity is to position a dedicated spacecraft slightly away from our direct line to the Sun, so that it can observe the ‘side’ of our star before it rotates into view,” says Juha-Pekka Luntama, responsible for space weather at ESA’s mission control centre, Darmstadt, Germany.

    Virtual points in space

    One of these, the 5th Lagrange point, lags 60º degrees behind Earth in its orbit – an ideal location for monitoring mass ejections from the ‘side’ so as to give early warning and better estimates of the speed and direction.

    Diagram of the Lagrange points associated with the Sun-Earth system.
    The Lagrange points associated with the Sun–Earth system

    “L5 is an excellent spot for a future ESA space weather mission because it gives advance views of what’s happening at the Sun,” says Juha-Pekka.

    “The spacecraft would provide crucial data that will help us spot Earth-arriving ejections, improve our forecasts of the arrival time at Earth and provide advance knowledge of active regions on the Sun as they rotate into view.”

    First-ever mission to L5

    Today, ESA began studies to examine exactly this concept. Four European industrial and scientific consortiums including leading experts on space systems and instrument design will develop concepts for flying a mission to L5.

    Based on the results, ESA will select a final design in about 18 months. 

    A rear artist view of Proba-2 as it looks towards the Sun
    Proba-2

    This space weather mission would provide data for operational applications such as forecasts and nowcasts of solar activity.

    These are part of ESA’s Space Weather Service Network, which will issue warnings and alerts to scientific, commercial and civil customers when solar activity poses any risk to critical civil and economic activities.

    Rate this

    Views

    Share

    • Currently 4.5 out of 5 Stars.
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
    Rating: 4.7/5 (161 votes cast)

    Thank you for rating!

    You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!

    Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!

    10598
    Tweet

    Related articles

    Solar antics19 September 2017

    Solar antics19 September 2017 The Sun’s recent activity has caught the interest of scientists and space weather forecasters worldwide, highlighting the need to keep a watchful eye on our star and its awesome power.

    Tracking a solar eruption through the Solar System 15 August 2017

    Tracking a solar eruption through the Solar System 15 August 2017 Ten spacecraft, from ESA’s Venus Express to NASA’s Voyager-2, felt the effect of a solar eruption as it washed through the Solar System while three other satellites watched, providing a unique perspective on this space weather event.

    ESA’s Sun-watching Proba-2 minisatellite shows the aftermath of 18 February 2014’s ‘coronal mass ejection’

    ESA expands space weather services15 November 2016

    ESA’s Sun-watching Proba-2 minisatellite shows the aftermath of 18 February 2014’s ‘coronal mass ejection’

    ESA expands space weather services15 November 2016 A major expansion in the space weather information and services provided by ESA will help satellites in space and networks like power grids on Earth to cope with solar eruptions.

    • ESA Space Weather Service Network
    • SSA brochure
      • Space weather and its hazards
        • Space Weather Segment
          • Monitoring space weather
          • Space weather missions
          • Proba-2 Science Centre
          • ESA's SOHO home page
          • Related
          • Airbus Defence and Space
          • STFC RAL Space
          • UCL Consultants
          • OHB System AG
    • App Store
    • Subscribe
    • mobile version
    • ESA Operations Twitter

    @ESAoperations

    • FAQ

    • Site Map

    • Contacts

    • Terms and conditions