Proba-3 stargazing to warm up for corona observations

The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission will create artificial solar eclipses in orbit, allowing scientists to study the Sun’s corona for longer periods of time than would be possible during eclipses observed from Earth. To test the functionality of Proba-3’s systems, researchers from the Royal Observatory of Belgium took a snapshot of a star field – in the very first image captured by the mission’s coronagraph.

Following their launch on 5 December 2024, the two satellites remained attached until their separation on 14 January 2025. The mission control team at ESA’s European Space Security and Education Centre in Belgium managed the initial in-orbit commissioning.

Proba-3 Occulter eclipsing Sun for Coronagraph spacecraft

To take images of the solar corona, Proba-3 carries ASPIICS, short for Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun. This instrument, developed for ESA by Centre Spatial de Liège, Belgium, is made up of a large occulting disc mounted on the Occulter spacecraft and a solar coronagraph system carried by the Coronagraph spacecraft.

In their most precise formation, the Coronagraph and the Occulter will be flying 150 m apart, maintaining their relative position down to a single millimetre. The occulting disc will cover the bright body of the Sun, casting a shadow onto the optical instrument on the Coronagraph spacecraft and allowing it to study the solar corona.

Following their launch on 5 December 2024, the two satellites remained attached until their separation on 14 January 2025. The mission control team at ESA’s European Space Security and Education Centre in Belgium managed the initial in-orbit commissioning.

Star field image taken by Proba-3's ASPIICS coronagraph

Following their launch on 5 December 2024, the two satellites remained attached until their separation on 14 January 2025. The mission control team at ESA’s European Space Security and Education Centre in Belgium managed the initial in-orbit commissioning.

Lens with embedded occulting disc

To take images of the solar corona, Proba-3 carries ASPIICS, short for Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun. This instrument, developed for ESA by Centre Spatial de Liège, Belgium, is made up of a large occulting disc mounted on the Occulter spacecraft and a solar coronagraph system carried by the Coronagraph spacecraft.

In their most precise formation, the Coronagraph and the Occulter will be flying 150 m apart, maintaining their relative position down to a single millimetre. The occulting disc will cover the bright body of the Sun, casting a shadow onto the optical instrument on the Coronagraph spacecraft and allowing it to study the solar corona.

Following their launch on 5 December 2024, the two satellites remained attached until their separation on 14 January 2025. The mission control team at ESA’s European Space Security and Education Centre in Belgium managed the initial in-orbit commissioning.

Proba-3 orbit

Proba-3 stargazing to warm up for corona observations

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