The European Space Agency’s (ESA) historic Cluster mission is drawing to an end with a fiery end on Earth, having spent almost 24 years in space.
Salsa, Rumba, Samba, and Tango — are completed their mission
The Cluster Mission was initially expected to last only for two years, but it proved everyone wrong by providing valuable scientific services for 24 years.
Salsa, the mission’s first satellite that played a key role in uncovering the secrets of the Earth’s magnetic shield, will make a controlled descent into the Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific region.
In September 2024, the spacecraft will reenter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up.
The four spacecraft, named Salsa, Rumba, Samba, and Tango, were launched in pairs from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in July and August 2000. Since then, they have been flying in formation, offering unprecedented three-dimensional insights into the interactions between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere.
Understanding space weather, which can have a big impact on Earth’s vital infrastructure like power grids and satellite communications, depends on this interaction.
Although the Cluster mission was only supposed to operate for two years, it has exceeded expectations by providing important scientific data for nearly twenty-four years.
Over the course of its prolonged mission, Cluster has successfully navigated through over 1,000 eclipses and surmounted a number of technical difficulties, including running without working batteries.
As the mission draws to a close, attention turns to the satellite’s safe reentry. Salsa’s descent has been carefully planned by operators to take place over an empty area, thereby reducing any possible risk.
Additionally, this event will give researchers a rare chance to examine the atmospheric reentry of identical satellites under different circumstances.
The wealth of knowledge that Cluster has brought to the scientific community is a testament to its longevity and success. The mission has published more than 3,200 scientific papers, greatly expanding our understanding of the dynamic processes occurring within the magnetosphere and the Sun-Earth connection.