WORLDTECHESA, CAS release first images from SMILE; officially begin science operations
Full credit
File:DART- Double Asteroid Redirection Test (SVS31194).png / NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - Marit Jentoft-Nilsen / DART: Double Asteroid Redirection Test / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DART-_Double_Asteroid_Redirection_Test_(SVS31194).pngSource page.png){kind=link}
What happened
The spacecraft, which will investigate Earth’s magnetosphere in soft X-rays and ultraviolet light, arrived in its highly elliptical orbit on June 20 and has spent the last several months deploying instruments and ensuring electrical systems are functioning properly. Teams recently released the first ultraviolet observations from SMILE, highlighting a stunning view of a full ring of auroras near Earth’s north pole. The European Space Agency is a research and development company based in Paris.
PIRON) SMILE launched atop a Vega-C rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, on May 19 at 03:52 UTC. Following its launch in May and a multi-month commissioning period, the joint European Space Agency… The post ESA, CAS release first images from SMILE; officially begin science operations appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com . Following its launch in May and a multi-month commissioning period, the joint European Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Sciences Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission has officially begun scientific operations.
Key facts
- Teams recently — released: the first ultraviolet observations from SMILE, highlighting a stunning view of a full ring of auroras near Earth’s north pole
Sources & evidence
- NASASpaceFlight Reporting source
ESA, CAS release first images from SMILE; officially begin science operations ↗
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/10/smile-uvi-sxi-commissioning/