SMILE spacecraft will use X-ray vision to study the northern lights and more
The SMILE spacecraft, a collaboration between the ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was launched to study solar winds and their impact on Earth's atmosphere. It will utilize X-ray and ultraviolet cameras to observe the magnetosphere and the northern and southern lights. The mission aims to enhance understanding of Earth's magnetic environment and improve safety for astronauts and space technologies over the next three years.
- ▪SMILE was launched on May 19 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
- ▪The spacecraft will study the relationship between solar winds and Earth's atmospheric safeguards.
- ▪It is the first mission to examine the magnetosphere using X-rays.
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| Original publisher | Popular Science |
| Canonical URL | https://www.popsci.com/science/smile-solar-spacecraft/ |
| Publication time | Tue, 19 May 2026 12:30:00 -0400 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-19T16:34:57.902Z |
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SMILE is the result of a multiyear collaboration between the ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Credit: ESA Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Email address Sign up Thank you! Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. There’s a SMILE beaming down from high above Earth. On May 19, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana with a payload representing years of international collaboration. Known as the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), the spacecraft will soon begin studying the sun’s immensely powerful solar winds and their relationship with Earth’s atmospheric safeguards.
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