Seas of the Sun, the story of Cluster

What began with tragedy ended in triumph. This is the untold story of the European Space Agency’s pioneering 25-year Cluster mission to study how invisible solar storms impact Earth’s environment.

Like a ship in a never-ending storm, Earth is bombarded by swarms of particles ejected from the sun at supersonic speeds. Most of these solar wind particles are deflected by the magnetosphere and sail harmlessly by, but Earth’s shield is not bulletproof.

Since 2000, Cluster has sailed the seas of the sun and revealed the complexities of the sun–Earth connection. After two-and-a-half incredibly successful decades in space, ESA took the decision to safely deorbit the four Cluster satellites throughout 2024–2026. The mission officially ended on 8 September 2024.

But a space mission is so much more than science. Experience Cluster’s story as told by the people who lived it: scientists and engineers Arnoud Masson, C. Philippe Escoubet, Gill Watson, Gunther Lautenschläger, Lean-Nani Alconcel, Bruno Sousa, Paulo Ferri, Patrick W. Daly, Mandred Warhaut, Silvia Sanvido and Jolene S. Pickett.