NASA has said that the experiments are to study the Sun’s corona and the impact of the temporary darkness of our skies on the atmosphere.

NASA will live stream the total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, as the rare celestial event crosses parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, and the Atlantic Ocean. The agency will also conduct scientific experiments using high-altitude aircraft and research balloons to study the Sun's corona and Earth's atmosphere.

Solar eclipses have captivated human imaginations for millennia, and they still fuel scientific discovery today. On August 12, the moon will pass directly between Earth and the sun, blocking its light over a swath of Western Europe and the Arctic.