Two European satellites were launched from India on December 5, 2024, as part of the Proba-3 mission. This mission aims to create artificial solar eclipses, allowing scientists to study the sun’s corona, its outer atmosphere, for longer periods. Natural solar eclipses last only minutes, but the artificial eclipses created by this mission will provide six-hour-long observation periods. These extended observations will help researchers understand why the sun’s corona is much hotter than its surface and investigate coronal mass ejections. These are powerful bursts of plasma and magnetic energy that can disrupt Earth’s communication systems. The mission is set to run for two years and will conduct at least two eclipses every week. The two satellites are small, each less than 1.5 meters in size, and will orbit Earth at altitudes ranging from 600 to 60,000 kilometers. They will maintain an exceptional precision, flying 150 meters apart. One satellite will block sunlight, and the other will observe the corona using advanced instruments. Experts from the European Space Agency have emphasized the mission’s importance in understanding solar activity and mitigating the risks of geomagnetic storms. Data collection will begin in March.