The Moon Enabled Sun Occultation Mission (MESOM) is a proposed UK-led space mission designed to create artificial solar eclipses in space, allowing scientists to study the Sun's corona for up to 48 minutes at a time, far longer than natural eclipses on Earth.

Inspired by historical long-duration eclipses, such as the 1973 Concorde eclipse, MESOM aims to surpass Earth's maximum eclipse duration, which is limited to minutes and occurs along narrow paths.

MESOM plans to orbit in sync with lunar eclipses approximately every 29.6 days, passing through the moon's umbral cone to observe the Sun's corona, which is vital for understanding solar flares and space weather phenomena.

Studying the solar corona is essential for predicting space weather, which can impact satellites, power grids, communication systems, and navigation, especially over polar regions.

The mission will carry advanced instruments, including a high-resolution coronal imager, a spectrometer, and a spectropolarimeter, to image the corona, analyze plasma, and study magnetic fields.

These instruments will enable detailed analysis of solar phenomena, helping scientists better understand the Sun's behavior and its effects on Earth.

MESOM exemplifies how orbital mechanics can overcome traditional observational limitations, providing continuous monitoring of the Sun's activity rather than relying on rare natural eclipses.

Total solar eclipses, which reveal the corona, are rare and short-lived events on Earth, making regular study challenging; MESOM aims to address this by creating consistent in-space eclipses.

The research team expects to hear back from the European Space Agency later in 2025 regarding their proposal, with potential operations extending for two years if approved.

Historically, the longest total solar eclipse lasted 7 minutes and 28 seconds in 743 BC, with upcoming eclipses like the August 2, 2027 event lasting over 6 minutes, highlighting the rarity of such phenomena.

MESOM will improve upon ESA's Proba-3 mission by moving closer to the Sun's corona at 1.02 solar radii and using the Moon as a natural occulter to block sunlight for observation.

By utilizing the Moon's shadow, MESOM could experience up to 80 artificial eclipses over two years, enabling continuous and detailed study of the Sun's corona.