Science begins for Smile

What happened

This follows a busy in-space commissioning period since the spacecraft launched on 19 May and reached its target orbit for science operations on 20 June. Science & Exploration Science begins for Smile 30/09/2026 651 views 6 likes ESA / Science & Exploration / Space Science / Smile On 23 September, the European-Chinese Smile mission was declared ready to start revealing how Earth responds to the wind of charged particles from the Sun.

On 23 September, the European-Chinese Smile mission was declared ready to start revealing how Earth responds to the wind of charged particles from the Sun. A spacecraft never quite behaves the same in space as it does on the ground. Between 20 June and now, European and Chinese teams have been getting Smile ready – including deploying mechanisms, switching on units, checking all communications between the spacecraft and the ground, and fixing any issues that came up.