China-Europe SMILE Solar Science Mission Begins Critical Tests in Beijing
The SMILE satellite—short for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer—is a major joint space mission between China and the European Space Agency (ESA). SMILE studies how solar winds affect Earth's magnetosphere, using X‑ray and ultraviolet (UV) imagers to capture these invisible interactions. It was launched on May 19, 2026, from Kourou, French Guiana, and has accurately entered its designated orbit for scientific observation.
This week a ESA team arrived in Beijing to join their Chinese counterparts in carrying out initial system checks.
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SMILE is an international space science mission designed to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetosphere. By observing these dynamic processes from space, SMILE will help scientists better understand space weather and its effects on our planet's magnetic environment.
The European Space Agency (ESA) was responsible for providing SMILE’s payload module (carrying three of the four science instruments), one of the spacecraft’s four science instruments (the soft X-ray imager, SXI), the launcher, and the Assembly Integration and Testing facilities and services. ESA contributed to a second science instrument (the ultraviolet imager, UVI) and the mission operations once SMILE is in orbit.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences provided the other three science instruments and the spacecraft platform, and is responsible for operating the spacecraft in orbit.
Video Credit: CGTN
Duration: 2 minutes, 39 seconds
Release Date: July 1, 2026
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