Mission-critical checks inside a cleanroom before launch

Bathed in the soft white light of a cleanroom, a team of experts carefully inspects ESA’s Proba‑3 satellites before launch. Proba‑3 is ESA’s – and the world’s – first precision formation flying mission. These two satellites can fly as a single spacecraft and have successfully created their first 'artificial total solar eclipse' in orbit.

This mission was developed for ESA by a broad international consortium, including more than 29 companies from 17 countries across Europe and Canada, each contributing specialised know‑how to this ambitious mission. Collaborations of this kind are a cornerstone of ESA’s work. By fostering a vibrant educational, technological, and industrial space ecosystem across its Member States, the European Space Agency is enabling a lasting uplift of expertise, competitiveness, and prosperity that will benefit all, today and tomorrow.