While the world eagerly waited for the total solar eclipse in April, scientists were already planning observations for the next — except this would be an "artificial" one. Here's what that means. Proba-3, a mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA), has been in the making for at least 14 years. It's due to finally launch this September and is designed to better detect tiny, faint features in the sun's extremely dim outer atmosphere called the corona. To accomplish that goal, the mission will launch two small satellites together which will separate once in space and fly in tandem in an orbit around Earth. Much like the moon passes in front of the sun during a solar eclipse, the two satellites — an occulter and a specialized instrument called a coronagraph — will mimic a natural solar eclipse by lining up 144 meters (472 feet) apart, such that the former blocks out the sun's glaring disk for the latter.

~ Coronagraphs normally include an occulter, so they become capable of blocking out the sun's bright disk themselves. But they also experience data-damaging diffraction, a consequence of light spilling around their edges and sometimes overshining very faint signals. "The best way to reduce diffraction is to increase the distance between the occulter and the coronagraph, which is precisely what Proba-3 is going to do," Proba-3's project manager Damien Galano said in a statement earlier this week.


( Image Source : European Space Agency/ Google Images ) 

This groundbreaking mission is set to achieve a world-first in precision formation flying, using two satellites that have been designed to operate together in perfect unison, forming a 'large rigid structure' amidst the vastness of space.  The Proba-3 mission is a remarkable feat of engineering and innovation, and marks a significant milestone in the quest to explore the final frontier.

• The Proba-3 mission aims to overcome this challenge by using an artificial eclipse in space, providing an unprecedented view of the corona closer to the solar rim than ever before. 
• The success of the mission depends on the precise positioning and coordination of the two spacecraft. To achieve this, the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed innovative technologies, including precision cold gas thrusters and vision-based detection systems. 
• These technologies will enable the satellites to maintain their relative positions with millimeter-scale accuracy. 
• The Proba-3 mission also serves as a testbed for future multi-satellite missions, which could operate as singular virtual structures. 
• It is for the more complex and rich space stakeholders that Earth's principles, tenets and analogies involve radical changes in our approach. 
• The Proba-3 mission will be launched using the PSLV-XL rocket, operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). 
• This collaboration between ESA and ISRO demonstrates the growing trend of international partnerships in space exploration, pooling resources and expertise to push the boundaries of what's possible

(Image Source: European Space Agency/Google Images) 

"We won't see quite as close to the solar limb as during a terrestrial eclipse," Russell Howard, an astrophysicist at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, said in the statement. "But having such images for hours on end compared to the five to 10 minutes duration of an eclipse event will be spectacular!"