proba-3

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission is extended until August 2028. This space mission, involving a significant Belgian contribution, is studying the lower layers of the Sun’s corona.

After an anomaly onboard Proba-3's Coronagraph spacecraft led to loss of contact between the spacecraft and ground control last February, a tiger team worked relentlessly to get the spacecraft and its ASPIICS coronagraph back. Already in March they managed to re-establish contact with the coronagraph spacecraft.

The Belgian-led ASPIICS coronagraph aboard ESA’s Proba-3 mission reveals a dynamic birthplace of the solar wind. Observations made by the ASPIICS coronagraph reveal a world of small-scale activity in the Sun’s inner corona, according to a new study led by the Royal Observatory of Belgium.

The first Proba-3 ASPIICS Guest Investigator call is now open, with a submission deadline of 12 February 2026. The GI programme offers access to Proba-3 ASPIICS data and the unique chance to participate in instrument commanding. 

Exactly 1 year ago, December 5, the duo satellite Proba-3 left Earth to head to space. The telescope ASPIICS, whose task is to make perfect total solar eclipses from space, was onboard. Now, 1 year later, ASPIICS has already delivered a wealth of amazing pictures of the solar atmosphere close to its surface, a treasure box for solar scientists. 

This is the image of the duo-satellite Proba-3 making solar eclipses, just released by the European Space Agency, ESA. 

Proba-3 is the latest ESA mission to be launched on December 4, 2024. The exploitation of ASPIICS, the instrument imaging the solar corona, is in the hands of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), where the associated scientific research will also be coordinated.