What European Space Agency (ESA) experimental heliophysics mission suffered an anomaly in February 2026 but re-established contact in March?

The European Space Agency's PROBA-3 mission made headlines in early 2026 when one of its two spacecraft, the Coronagraph, experienced an anomaly in mid-February, leading to a loss of communication. This experimental heliophysics mission is unique because it consists of two satellites designed to fly in an incredibly precise formation, creating an artificial solar eclipse to study the sun's faint corona. The loss of contact, caused by an attitude anomaly that prevented solar panels from charging, raised concerns about the mission's future.

Thankfully, ESA engineers successfully re-established contact with the Coronagraph spacecraft on March 19, 2026, a month after the initial incident. The satellite entered a "safe mode" and began recharging its batteries as its solar panels once again oriented towards the sun. This recovery was a significant relief for the scientific community, as PROBA-3 offers an unprecedented view of the sun's inner corona, an area crucial for understanding space weather and coronal mass ejections.

Launched in December 2024, PROBA-3 aims to demonstrate high-precision formation flying technology. One satellite, the Occulter, carries a disk to block the sun's direct light, while the other, the Coronagraph, houses an instrument to observe the sun's atmosphere from within that artificial shadow. The two spacecraft maintain their relative positions with millimetric accuracy, typically about 150 meters apart. This innovative approach allows for continuous, long-duration observations of the corona, far exceeding the brief moments offered by natural solar eclipses on Earth.