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\t\t\t\t\t\t19\/05\/2026<\/span> The Smile spacecraft lifted off on a Vega-C rocket from Europe\u2019s Spaceport in French Guiana at 04:52 BST \/ 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026. The launch marks the beginning of an ambitious mission to better understand solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and the science of space weather.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Following launch and separation from the rocket, the first signal from Smile was received by ESA\u2019s New Norcia ground station in Australia at 06:48 CEST. The spacecraft\u2019s solar panels then deployed at 06:49 CEST, meaning that Smile can now collect sunlight to power its systems and science instruments. The completion of this operation marked the launch a success.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Smile is a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It will reveal how Earth responds to the streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun, using an X-ray camera to make the world\u2019s first X-ray observations of Earth\u2019s magnetic shield, and an ultraviolet camera to watch the resulting northern lights non-stop for 45 hours at a time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are about to witness something we\u2019ve never seen before \u2013 Earth\u2019s invisible armour in action,\u201d says ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. \u201cWith Smile, we are pushing the boundaries of science in an effort to answer big questions that have remained a mystery since we discovered, over seventy years ago, that Earth sits safely within a giant magnetic bubble.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds: \u201cESA and China have a long-standing record of cooperation spanning 25 years, from early data-sharing arrangements in the 1990s to the co-developed Smile mission. This mission stands as a testament to ESA\u2019s commitment to international collaboration, advancing scientific knowledge and promoting the peaceful use of space.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cSmile will shed light on the mysteries of Earth\u2019s magnetic shield,\u201d says ESA Smile Project Manager David Agnolon. \u201cThe mission is made possible thanks to a smooth collaboration between ESA and CAS, with contributions from partners across Europe. It marks the first time that ESA and China have jointly selected, designed, implemented, launched and operated a mission together, and we are all really excited for the major scientific discoveries that we expect to come from Smile over the next three years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n For almost four billion years, Earth has been holding up a giant shield against the relentless attack of charged particles from the Sun. This solar wind can damage anything in its path, especially when it builds up into solar storms.<\/p>\n The solar wind would turn our thriving green and blue Earth into a rocky brown wasteland \u2013 if the magnetic field produced deep within our planet didn\u2019t exist. This magnetic field forms a giant protective bubble around us, called the magnetosphere.<\/p>\n For the first time in history, we have reached the point where our scientific tools and technologies have advanced enough that we can get to the bottom of how exactly this defence against the solar wind works.<\/p>\n Professor Carole Mundell, ESA\u2019s Director of Science says: \u201cSmile is the newest member of ESA\u2019s space science mission fleet. It builds on ground-breaking scientific and technological heritage from previous missions, including Cluster and XMM-Newton, taking tried-and-tested technologies and applying them in a new way to reveal Earth\u2019s magnetic environment like never before.\u201d<\/p>\n She continues: \u201cThe trusted collaboration between our engineering and science teams in Europe and China has endured through global challenges such as pandemic travel restrictions and geographically distributed teams. It\u2019s exciting to see this all come together today and I\u2019m looking forward to the new scientific discoveries Smile will deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Smile is equipped with a unique toolbox designed to give us our first complete look at how Earth\u2019s magnetic field responds to the Sun\u2019s relentless attack.<\/p>\n It will be the first mission to look at Earth\u2019s magnetic shield with X-ray vision, to reveal where and how it is hit by the solar wind. This interaction triggers disturbances, from minor substorms to major geomagnetic storms, to ripple through our magnetosphere towards the North and South Poles.<\/p>\n There, the magnetic storms set off a light show of auroras (the northern and southern lights). Smile will use ultraviolet vision to record the northern lights for 45 hours at a time, becoming the first mission to observe them for so long, and the first since 2008 to observe the full circle of auroras around the North Pole in ultraviolet light.<\/p>\n By comparing the X-ray and ultraviolet images, we will be reading the real-time story of how Earth is responding to the solar wind onslaught.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence that Smile collects will help us better understand planet Earth and our Solar System as a whole,\u201d says ESA Smile Project Scientist Philippe Escoubet. \u201cAnd the science it uncovers will improve our models of Earth\u2019s magnetic environment, which could ultimately help keep our astronauts and space technologies safe for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Vega-C rocket that took Smile into space was chosen as it perfectly matched the needs of the mission.<\/p>\n G\u00e9raldine Naja, ESA\u2019s Director of Space Transportation says: \u201cFrom initial idea, to liftoff and then results, thousands of people are working together in teams all over the world to make Smile a success. The precision engineering required for a launch makes each and every one an achievement. Congratulations to all of the partners involved that made Vega-C shine today \u2013 in particular Avio, who acted as the launch service operator for the first time \u2013 allowing for a smooth start to Smile’s science voyage.\u201d<\/p>\n The launch is just the beginning. During the next month, Smile will be slowly increasing its altitude through 11 engine burns, ultimately ending up in an extremely elliptical orbit that takes it 121 000 km above the North Pole to collect data, before descending to 5000 km above the South Pole to efficiently deliver it to eagerly awaiting scientists on Earth.<\/p>\n The data collection will begin in earnest in July, after the team has unfolded booms, opened camera covers, and confirmed that everything works as expected.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Smile is a truly international endeavour, with major European contributions.<\/p>\n On behalf of ESA, Airbus Defence and Space in Spain built Smile\u2019s payload module. This crucial part of the spacecraft carries three of the mission\u2019s four science instruments \u2013 including the X-ray and ultraviolet cameras, as well as the unit that controls the instruments, and the communication channel that sends all the valuable science data back down to Earth.<\/p>\n Europe was also responsible for the X-ray camera, Smile\u2019s largest instrument. On behalf of ESA, this camera was developed and built in the UK by the University of Leicester, in collaboration with Mullard Space Science Laboratory and the Open University, working with several other institutions across Europe.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Together, the payload module and X-ray camera involved contributions from institutes and companies in 14 European countries, with the United Kingdom and Spain providing the largest contributions.<\/p>\n The financial contribution to the mission from ESA is \u20ac130 million, involving over 25 procurement contracts with more than 40 companies and institutes. All ESA Member States contribute indirectly through the agency\u2019s Science Programme, with the average contribution to Smile being about 28 cents per European resident.<\/p>\n The Smile project has employed hundreds of people for seven years in Europe and China, and hundreds of scientists will carry out research for years to come using the data that Smile collects.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n About Smile<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Smile<\/i>\u00a0(the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).<\/i><\/p>\n Smile will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. In doing so, Smile will improve our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic\u00a0storms\u00a0and the science of space weather.<\/i><\/p>\n ESA\u00a0is\u00a0responsible for\u00a0providing Smile\u2019s payload module (which carries three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft\u2019s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributes to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once Smile is in orbit.<\/i><\/p>\n CAS\u00a0provides the other\u00a0three science instruments and the spacecraft\u00a0platform, and\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0operating\u00a0the spacecraft in orbit.<\/i><\/p>\n Smile is part of ESA’s\u00a0<\/i>Cosmic Vision<\/i>\u00a0programme, principally contributing to answering the question \u2018How does the Solar System work?\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n For more information, visit:\u00a0<\/i>https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Smile<\/i><\/p>\n About Vega-C<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Europe\u2019s <\/i>Vega-C<\/i>\u00a0rocket can launch 2300 kg into space, such as small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft. At 35 m tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of satellites into their desired orbit around Earth.<\/i><\/p>\n Complementing the Ariane family to launch all types of payloads into their desired orbits, Vega-C ensures that Europe has versatile and independent access to space. ESA leads the Vega-C programme, working with <\/i>Avio<\/i>\u00a0as prime contractor and design authority. For this launch Avio is also launch service operator.<\/i><\/p>\n For more information, visit: <\/i><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe time has come<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPreparing for science<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEuropean collaboration<\/b><\/h3>\n
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