The China–Europe SMILE satellite has successfully launched, marking a new phase in space science cooperation and advancing research on solar wind and space weather.
The joint China–Europe solar wind–magnetosphere interaction satellite SMILE was successfully launched on the 19th from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou aboard a Vega-C rocket and has entered its planned orbit.
This mission marks the first full, task-level deep cooperation between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the European Space Agency (ESA) in space science. It is also one of China’s most comprehensive international space engineering collaborations to date.
A Ten-Year Journey from Selection to Launch
The SMILE mission was selected in 2015 through an international call for space science proposals jointly issued by CAS and ESA. CAS and ESA selected SMILE from several candidate missions, and it received formal development approval.
From approval to launch, the project took more than a decade. During this period, teams from both sides worked across continents to turn the concept into a fully operational scientific satellite.
The core scientific goal of SMILE is to achieve global imaging of the interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere. By doing so, it aims to reveal how space weather is formed and evolves.
As modern society becomes increasingly dependent on satellites, navigation systems, and power infrastructure, solar wind-driven geomagnetic storms have also become a factor that cannot be ignored.
According to Wang Chi, Director of the National Space Science Centre of CAS, the mission aims to capture a more complete picture of solar wind–magnetosphere interaction through global imaging.
The satellite uses soft X-ray and ultraviolet imaging techniques to reconstruct large-scale magnetospheric dynamics under solar wind influence. It applies a “CT scan” approach to Earth’s magnetosphere. Scientists often describe this approach as a “CT scan” of Earth’s magnetosphere. With long-term continuous observations, SMILE is expected to improve space weather understanding and support space-based infrastructure safety.
From Process Gaps to Close Coordination
SMILE carries jointly developed payloads from China and Europe. China is responsible for the satellite platform, mission control, ground support systems, and scientific application systems. It also leads the development of three key instruments: the ultraviolet auroral imager, the low-energy ion analyser, and the magnetometer.
ESA is responsible for the payload module and the world’s first spaceborne soft X-ray imager. It also provides the launch vehicle, launch site, and support during the ascent phase. Several leading European institutions, including the University of Leicester, contributed to instrument development and calibration.
Over the course of ten years, the two sides went through a long process of technical alignment. European teams tend to emphasise strict procedural control and long-term configuration stability. Chinese teams, by contrast, often favour parallel development and rapid iteration. This difference created coordination challenges in the early phase of the project.
However, as cooperation deepened, frequent meetings and detailed interface documentation helped both sides align expectations and technical workflows. Over time, European engineers came to recognise the efficiency of Chinese execution, while Chinese teams adopted earlier planning and more structured documentation practices.
The collaboration also built personal connections. In 2024, when the satellite was integrated at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European colleagues arranged regular Chinese meals on Fridays for the visiting Chinese team. What began as a small gesture became a memorable part of the joint working experience.
According to Zhang Yonghe, Deputy Director of the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, SMILE demonstrates that deep China–Europe cooperation in space science is both feasible and productive. He noted that the project has set a benchmark for cross-cultural engineering collaboration and strengthened confidence in future large-scale international missions.
ESA Science Director Carole Mundell also said that the trust built between engineering and science teams has endured through global disruptions. She added that SMILE is expected to deliver important new scientific discoveries.
Open Science and the Next Phase of Space Exploration
After launch, SMILE will spend about 42 days adjusting its orbit before reaching its final scientific observation trajectory. It will then undergo approximately two months of in-orbit testing, followed by a planned three-year scientific observation phase.
During operations, Chinese and European teams will jointly process all scientific data and make it openly available to research institutions worldwide.
Beyond SMILE, China plans to advance a new generation of space science missions over the next five years. These include the “Hongmeng Project,” “Kuafu-2,” an exoplanet survey mission, and an enhanced X-ray timing and polarimetry observatory. These missions aim to study topics ranging from the early universe to solar activity, Earth-like exoplanets, and extreme astrophysical environments.
According to Wang Chi, discussions on future cooperation with ESA are already underway in these areas.
For China and Europe, SMILE may represent not an endpoint, but the starting point of a longer and more structured era of space science collaboration.
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