European Mission To Imitate Solar Eclipse Launches From India

Faizan Hashmi Published December 05, 2024 | 04:50 PM

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Dec, 2024) A European mission launched from India on Thursday, aiming to catch a rare glimpse of the Sun's mysterious atmosphere by imitating a solar eclipse using two satellites flying with millimetre-level precision.

The European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission blasted off on an Indian rocket from a launchpad on the island of Sriharikota at around 4:04 pm (1034 GMT), an online broadcast showed.

Around 20 minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the rocket, which marked a successful launch and was met with applause by mission control in India, according to the ESA broadcast.

The mission aims to find out more about the Sun's corona, the outermost part of its atmosphere, which is not visible on Earth except during a total solar eclipse when the Moon blocks out the light.

The half-ton spacecraft, which has been deployed into Earth's orbit, holds two satellites that will separate from each other early next year.

They will then line up around 150 metres (500 feet) apart so that one casts its shadow on the other.

In tandem, and without guidance from the ground, the solar-powered satellites will embark on an extremely elliptical 19-hour orbit, swinging out towards the Sun around 60,000 kilometres (37,000 miles) from Earth.