The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission.

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The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission.

Why in news?

• The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-3 mission will be launched on ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on December 4.

About Proba-3 mission:

• First in the world, Proba-3 mission will see two satellites in a formation parallel to each other for long durations.
• Proba-3 is a dual probe technological demonstration mission by the European Space Agency devoted to high precision formation flying to achieve scientific coronagraphy .
•  It is part of the series of PROBA satellites that are being used to validate new spacecraft technologies and concepts while also carrying scientific instruments.

Objectives of Proba-3 mission:

• The satellite pair has been designed to study the solar corona, the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere. 
• These satellite instruments  such as the one on India’s Aditya L1 mission have a coronagraph to look at the sun and an occulter to block the light from the brighter layers of the sun.