![A 15-meter diameter dish antenna with reception and transmission in S-band is seen at the ESA's ground station in Villafranca, Spain. [ESA - S. Corvaja]](/gc8/images/2026/03/26/55218-villafranca_vil-1-370_237.webp)
A 15-meter diameter dish antenna with reception and transmission in S-band is seen at the ESA's ground station in Villafranca, Spain. [ESA - S. Corvaja] By BlueShift |
More than a month after ground control lost contact with the European Space Agency (ESA) Proba-3 mission's Coronagraph spacecraft, the satellite "phoned home," on March 18, re-establishing the lost connection, the agency said.
The "call" received at ESA's ground station in Villafranca, Spain, reestablished contact after more than a month of silence, after a February 14 anomaly aboard the Coronagraph spacecraft severed communication.
ESA director Josef Aschbacher described the reconnection as a "miracle."
Proba-3 launched aboard an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Center on the Indian island of Sriharikota in December 2024.
![Proba-3's Coronagraph spacecraft appears here as a tiny white dot. The image was captured by its twin, the Occulter spacecraft, shortly before ground stations were able to re-establish contact with the Coronograph spacecraft. [ESA]](/gc8/images/2026/03/26/55217-proba-3-coronagraph-370_237.webp)
Proba-3's Coronagraph spacecraft appears here as a tiny white dot. The image was captured by its twin, the Occulter spacecraft, shortly before ground stations were able to re-establish contact with the Coronograph spacecraft. [ESA] ![Proba-3 mission control at the European Space Security and Education Center SmallSat Operations Center in Redu, Belgium. The center coordinates extensively with the Villafranca ground station in Spain. [ESA]](/gc8/images/2026/03/26/55192-proba3-mission-control-370_237.webp)
Proba-3 mission control at the European Space Security and Education Center SmallSat Operations Center in Redu, Belgium. The center coordinates extensively with the Villafranca ground station in Spain. [ESA]
The two-year mission uses two spacecraft flying in precise formation to simulate a solar eclipse in order to observe the Sun.
The mission's Coronagraph spacecraft hosts the ASPIICS instrument, which observes the Sun's little-known outer atmosphere -- the solar corona -- while its Occulter spacecraft blocks out the Sun, using a 1.4-meter shield.
This combination affords scientists a rare glimpse of the solar corona.
The solar corona is several million kilometers thick, but remains little understood. Invisible to the naked eye and telescopes, it is normally hidden by the bright light coming from the Sun.
While total eclipses on Earth last just minutes and only occur around 60 times a century, Proba-3 is capable of securing 10 to 12 hours of observations a week over two years, according to the ESA.
But on February 14, something happened to the Coronagraph spacecraft: A chain reaction saw it losing its orientation, causing its solar panel to face away from the Sun, draining the batteries.
The spacecraft then entered survival mode, and floated silently through space until March 18, when the Villafranca station received telemetry from it, with data on its temperature, voltages and health of onboard systems.
"The Coronagraph is now in safe mode and stable, and the mission team and operators are running health checks on the spacecraft to understand if any parts of it have been damaged," the ESA said.
"Hearing back from the Coronagraph is amazing news, and a great relief!" said Proba-3 mission manager Damien Galano.
"Since the issue was detected a month ago, the mission team, operators and our industry partners have been working tirelessly to get the spacecraft back."
"When we got the call from the operators at Villafranca, the excitement in the team was palpable. But the hard work is not over yet – we need to carefully look at the data before we take any further steps," he said.
Tumbling through space
After contact was lost on February 14, the Occulter spacecraft -- the one with the shield -- had been "following and observing" its lost twin, Aschbacher said during a briefing following an ESA Council meeting, AFP reported.
The lost spacecraft had been "tumbling" when an ESA team in Spain "saw that some sunlight is actually hitting the solar panels," he explained.
They seized the chance, using this small amount of power to re-establish a connection.
The spacecraft’s solar panel is now facing the Sun, powering the essential electronics on board and charging the battery with the remaining power.
After a month of floating in space and exposed to extreme cold, onboard systems need time to warm up before any major actions are taken.
Next ESA experts will switch the instruments back on and carry out tests to find out how much damage has been done.