India’s Aditya L1 mission, launched in September 2023, will work alongside the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission to study the Sun. Both missions are set to begin solar observations in the second quarter of 2025.
Aditya L1 has been stationed at the Lagrange point (L1), approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, since January 2024. It carries the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) to observe the Sun. The Proba-3 mission, which launched in December 2023, is the first mission to deploy two satellites that fly in formation to simulate a solar eclipse and study the Sun’s corona.
The key instrument both missions share is the coronagraph. This tool helps block the Sun’s bright rays, allowing astronomers to study its outer atmosphere and nearby features. Proba-3 carries the Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun (ASPIICS), while Aditya L1 carries VELC.
ASPIICS provides a detailed view of the Sun’s corona, specifically the belt between the inner and outer corona, which is only visible during a solar eclipse. With a 1.4-meter diameter occulting disk, ASPIICS will offer a close-up of this area, enabling scientists to observe it more closely than ever before.
Scientists from India and ESA participated in a meeting in Chennai last week, focusing on collaboration opportunities for joint solar observation campaigns. Dr. Dipankar Banerjee, Director of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, emphasized the value of these campaigns for both Indian and ESA scientists.
After its December 5 launch, Proba-3 is now in its commissioning phase. The ESA mission operations team in Belgium has been monitoring the spacecraft, which is performing as expected. Calibration and commissioning of the payloads are ongoing, with the first solar observations anticipated around February-March 2025.
The Digital Absolute Radiometer (DARA), one of the mission’s three main payloads, will begin operations soon. This small payload measures the Sun’s total energy output, known as the total solar irradiance. Proba-3’s twin satellites will begin early observations and separate in early 2025 for initial check-outs and further solar studies.
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