ESA's Proba-2 satellite tests technologies, shows new Sun views

A European Space Agency (ESA) team from the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Brussels, released the Proba-2 satellite's new images of the Sun and declared the first three months of its technology testing mission a success.

Since its launch on Nov. 2, 2009, ESA's Proba-2 solar observatory has been demonstrating technologies for the agency's future missions and granting researchers fresh views of our Sun. Constructed by the Belgian firm Verhaert Space, Proba-2 is the latest in the ESA’s "Project for Onboard Autonomy" series of missions. Operations for this small, innovative satellite, less than a cubic meter in size, have flown smoothly, supported by a modest-sized ground crew at ESA’s Redu ground station in Belgium. “The satellite is sufficiently advanced to oversee itself on a day-to-day basis,” said Frank Preud’homme of Verhaert Space. Many European countries and Canada have contributed to the mission, which is testing 17 new technologies for use on future ESA missions. ESA’s Director of Technical and Quality Management, Michel Courtois noted that most of Proba-2's technology demonstrators have now been switched on successfully. According to David Southwood, ESA Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, Proba-2 will act as a solar and space weather observatory while it tests instruments that have evolved from earlier solar platforms, such the ESA/NASA solar storm watching SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) mission. Space weather storms, or high-energy solar winds of charged electrons and protons (often called plasma) escaping from the Sun's upper atmosphere, can affect ground-based electrical power grids, damage electronics on satellites and harm unshielded astronauts. Proba-2 will observe the Sun and monitor the solar wind to provide information about how the Sun’s activity can influence Earth’s ionosphere. Proba-2 follows the work of Proba-1, launched in October 2001, which demonstrated that small satellites are an effective way to test new technologies, while collecting data for research projects. It featured Earth-monitoring instruments that are still operating productively under ESA’s Earth Observation Directorate.