The European Space Agency (ESA) has conducted the most extreme space weather experiment in history in Darmstadt, Germany, simulating a solar supergeomagnetic storm, dubbed the equivalent of the 1859 Carrington event —the most powerful solar flare ever recorded.
During the experiment, the sun unleashed a triple-whammy: a massive X-class flare, a stream of high-energy particles, and a substantial coronal mass ejection. The result was an enormous expansion of the atmosphere, the orbits of satellites were thrown off course, and communications and navigation were disrupted.
According to ESA expert Jorge Amayán, no spacecraft would be safe from such an explosion. Scientists warn that this is not a theoretical event, but an inevitable one; the question is when it will happen. ESA is preparing for the 2031 Vigil mission, which will be deployed at the L5 point of the Sun-Earth system to provide early warnings of solar flares. The goal is to prevent a catastrophe that could paralyze communications, energy systems, and space infrastructure.
