How a 25-year mission decoded the Sun's invisible storms
Explore the remarkable journey of the ESA's Cluster mission. This documentary traces how four satellites navigated the solar wind to reveal the complex, often turbulent connection between the Sun and Earth's magnetic shield.
Since 2000, the Cluster mission has studied the supersonic particles ejected from the Sun that bombard our planet. While Earth's magnetosphere deflects most of this solar wind, the mission demonstrated that our planetary shield is not bulletproof. The documentary follows the mission's evolution from its tragic beginnings to its scientific triumphs.
After two and a half decades of discovery, the mission officially concluded on 8 September 2024, with the ESA managing the deorbiting of the four satellites between 2024 and 2026. The film provides a deep look into the engineering and science that sustained this pioneering era of space exploration.
Source: Seas of the Sun: The story of Cluster (Full documentary)
