What does PROBA mean in Astronomy?

PROBA

PROBA is minisatellite technology demonstration mission in ESA's General Study Program with the objective to address issues of on-board operational autonomy of a generic platform. PROBA (Project for On-Board Autonomy), renamed PROBA-1, is a Belgian satellite launched atop an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle by ISRO on 22 October 2001. The satellite was funded through the ESA's MicroSat program. This small (60×60×80 cm; 95 kg) boxlike system, with solar panel collectors on its surface, has remarkable image-making qualities. It hosts two Earth Observation instruments dubbed CHRIS and HRC. CHRIS is a hyperspectral system (200 narrow bands) that images at 17 m resolution, while HRC is a monochromatic camera that images visible light at 5 m resolution.With an initial lifetime of one to two years, the satellite celebrated its 20th year of operations in 2021. On 9 March 2018, it surpassed ERS-2 as ESA's longest operated Earth observation mission of all time.

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