Messi among the Inter Miami regulars not in starting lineup, enters as sub in 1-0 win over Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — Lionel Messi played off the bench for Inter Miami on Saturday at Toronto, the next-to-last contest of the regular season for the MLS Supporters Shield winners.

He was on the field for the only goal, Leonardo Campana's score in the third minute of second-half stoppage time that gave Inter Miami a 1-0 victory and moved the Herons one win away from setting the MLS record for points in a season.

Messi, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, came on as a reserve in the 61st minute, as did fellow would-be starter Sergio Busquets. Also out of the starting 11 for Inter Miami on Saturday were Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and goalkeeper Drake Callender.

Suarez came on in the 71st minute and was credited with the assist on Campana's goal.

Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino indicated Friday that Messi's workload would be a consideration now that the team has wrapped up the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage for the entirety of the MLS Cup playoffs. Inter Miami will play its first playoff match at home on Oct. 25.

Messi is set to report to Argentina's national team in the coming days for World Cup qualifying matches on Oct. 10 and Oct. 15. Those matches, and the travel involved, would figure to put his availability in some doubt for Inter Miami's regular-season finale at home on Oct. 19 against New England.

Oscar Ustari — a teammate of Messi's on the Argentina team that won Olympic gold in 2008 — was in goal against Toronto in Callender's spot, making his debut with the club. Ustari signed with Inter Miami last month.

Inter Miami's win Saturday keeps the club in position to set the MLS single-season points record. If it wins the finale against New England, the Herons would finish with 74 points — one more than the 73 that New England managed in 2021.

Messi has 17 goals in 18 MLS matches this season, including two in the shield-clinching 3-2 win at Columbus on Wednesday.

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Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) controls the ball during second half an MLS soccer game against Toronto FC in Toronto, Saturday Oct. 5, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi looks on from the sidelines before the start of an MLS soccer match against Toronto FC in Toronto Saturday Oct. 5, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Fans watch Inter Miami's Lionel Messi take his place on the bench before the start of an MLS soccer match against Toronto FC in Toronto Saturday Oct. 5, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Fans looks on as Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi, front right, and Luis Suárez make their way to the sidelines before the start of an MLS soccer match against Toronto FC in Toronto Saturday Oct. 5, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Fans looks on as Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi, front right, and Luis Suárez make their way to the sidelines before the start of an MLS soccer match against Toronto FC in Toronto Saturday Oct. 5, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Messi among the Inter Miami regulars not in starting lineup for match at Toronto

Messi among the Inter Miami regulars not in starting lineup for match at Toronto

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi dribbles the ball as Columbus Crew's Alexandru Matan defends during the first half of an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A pair of European satellites rocketed into orbit Thursday on the first mission to create artificial solar eclipses through fancy formation flying in space.

Each fake eclipse should last six hours once operations begin next year. That's considerably longer than the few minutes of totality offered by a natural eclipse here on Earth, allowing for prolonged study of the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere.

The launch took place from India.

“We are a very happy science team here” in India, the European Space Agency's mission scientist Joe Zender said via email.

Billed as a tech demo, the two satellites will separate in a month or so and fly 492 feet (150 meters) apart once reaching their destination high above Earth, lining up with the sun so that one spacecraft casts a shadow on the other.

This will require extreme precision, within just one millimeter, equivalent to a fingernail's thickness, according to the European Space Agency. To maintain their position, the satellites will rely on GPS, star trackers, lasers and radio links, flying autonomously.

Each cube-shaped spacecraft is less than 5 feet (1.5 meters) across. The shadow-casting satellite holds a disk to block the sun from the telescope on the other satellite. This disk will mimic the moon in a natural total solar eclipse, with the darkened satellite posing as Earth.

“This has a huge scientific relevance” in addition to testing high-precision formation flying,” said the European Space Agency’s technology and engineering director Dietmar Pilz.

Scientists need the glaring face of the sun completely blocked in order to scrutinize the wispy crown-like corona encircling it, getting an especially good look close to the solar rim on this mission. They're particularly interested to learn why the corona is hotter than the surface of the sun, and also want to better understand coronal mass ejections, eruptions of billions of tons of plasma with magnetic fields out into space.

The resulting geomagnetic storms can disrupt power and communication on Earth and in orbit. Such outbursts can also produce stunning auroras in unexpected places.

With a lopsided orbit stretching from 370 miles (600 kilometers) to 37,000 miles (60,000 kilometers) away, the satellites will take nearly 20 hours to circle the world. Six of those hours — at the farther end of certain orbits — will be spent generating an eclipse. Other orbits will be strictly for formation flying experiments, according to the European Space Agency.

The first eclipse results should be available in March, following checkout of both craft.

Zender said eclipses will be created at least twice a week, with six hours of totality each time for corona observations. The frequency will depend on solar activity, he noted, and prove a boon for scientists who now must travel across the world for a mere three to five minutes of totality during the occasional eclipse.

The $210 million mission, dubbed Proba-3, is aiming for at least 1,000 hours of “on demand” totality during its two-year operation. Once their job is done, both satellites will gradually drop lower until they burn up in the atmosphere, likely within five years.

Liftoff was delayed a day by a last-minute issue with the backup propulsion system of one of the satellites, crucial for precision formation flying. The European Space Agency said engineers relied on a computer software fix.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This image taken from video provided by the European Space Agency shows the launching of a rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. A pair of European satellites rocketed into orbit Thursday on the first mission to create artificial solar eclipses through fancy formation flying in space. (European Space Agency via AP)

This image provided by the European Space Agency shows a pair of probes creating an artificial total solar eclipse through formation flying. (European Space Agency via AP)