Dr. Colin Forsyth of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London is a co-scientific lead for the SMILE mission.
The UK Space Agency allocated £15 million for British involvement in the SMILE mission.
Two Teledyne Space Imaging CCD370 imaging sensors have launched aboard the European Space Agency’s SMILE mission.
Avio successfully launched Vega-C VV29 with the joint ESA-CAS SMILE mission.
ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched the SMILE mission on May 19, 2026.
The European Space Agency is preparing to launch the SMILE mission in collaboration with China.
The SMILE mission is scheduled to launch from French Guiana on Tuesday.
Vega C was associated with the SMILE mission on May 19, 2026.
The SMILE mission is intended to improve understanding of solar storms, protect equipment on Earth and in orbit, and help safeguard astronauts’ health during space missions.
The planned Smile mission follows the earlier Double Star collaboration from the early 2000s.
The Smile mission will be the first Vega-C flight operated directly by Avio this year and the seventh launch of the vehicle overall.
Avio postponed the launch of ESA’s SMILE mission aboard a Vega C rocket after an issue was identified on the production line of a subsystem component.
A consortium of more than 250 European and Chinese scientists is participating in the Smile mission.
Avio’s SMILE mission is designated Flight VV29.
The ESA-CAS SMILE mission is scheduled to launch on Vega-C VV29 on April 9, 2026 at 06:29 UTC.
The Smile mission is a scientific cooperation between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Smile mission is designed to study interactions between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere.
ESA is the overall responsible party for the transport phase of the SMILE mission, with close participation from Chinese colleagues.
Four members of the SMILE mission team are traveling aboard the Colibri—two from Europe and two from China—to monitor the spacecraft during transit.
The SMILE mission aims to provide a comprehensive view of how Earth responds to steady solar particle streams and bursts of radiation from the Sun.