> Proba-3, works just like a real solar eclipse. One spacecraft, which is roughly circular when viewed from the front, orbits closer to the sun, and its job is to block the bright parts of the sun, acting as the moon would in a real eclipse. It casts a shadow on a second probe that has a camera capable of photographing the resulting artificial eclipse.
> Having two separate spacecraft flying independently but in such a way that one casts a shadow on the other is a challenging task. But future missions depend on scientists figuring out how to make this precision choreography technology work, and so Proba-3 is a test.
Oh wow, they've potentially rescued this (very cool!) mission for both probes
I'm genuinely curious: I'm sure you know about the existence of ad blockers. They're not exactly new technology. I'm sure you also know that everyone here knows about ad blockers. So I'm genuinely wondering: what does it do for you to complain about the ads here? Especially in a way that some will no doubt take as you never having heard of ad blockers?
Use U-Block origin. At this point I consider it a necessity for accessibility. I find it impossible to read anything with animated or video adverts. I truly cannot focus on the text. It's user-hostile, ableist, and content producers that continue using them can go fuck themselves. I have no ethical qualms about depriving them of revenue.
The ads delivery ecosystem billing is generally structured around impressions not click through rate (which depends a lot on the nature of the ad). So yes it does.
The European Space Agency, not 'Europe'. Just as annoying as calling the EU Europe, and calling both Europe despite different membership is just confusing.
I doubt there's anyone in the small group of people that actually need to care about the distinction between EU and ESA spacecraft who doesn't already know this is an ESA mission anyway, and if such a person exists they can probably read as far as the first four words...
> Having two separate spacecraft flying independently but in such a way that one casts a shadow on the other is a challenging task. But future missions depend on scientists figuring out how to make this precision choreography technology work, and so Proba-3 is a test.
Oh wow, they've potentially rescued this (very cool!) mission for both probes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfW645jhbKM
Yes. Yes it is.
"'Miracle': European Space Agency reconnects with lost spacecraft" is long.
"'Miracle': ESA reconnects with lost spacecraft" is opaque.
The first four words of the article are, "The European Space Agency..."