The mission

Smile is using four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. This is improving our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and the science of space weather.

The launch

Launch date: 19 May 2026, 05:52 CEST
Launch location: Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana
Launch vehicle: Vega-C
Destination: highly elliptical orbit around Earth

4 instruments

45 continuous hours of observing the northern lights

3 year lifetime

>250 scientists

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Explore

[ Smile ]

30 MEÁN. 2026

Science begins for 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. 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.

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[ Smile ]

19 BEAL. 2026

Smile lifts off on quest to reveal Earth’s invisible shield against the solar wind

The Smile spacecraft lifted off on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026. The launch marks the beginning of an ambitious mission to better understand solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and the science of space weather.

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[ Smile ]

12 BEAL. 2026

How to follow the Smile launch live

ESA will be broadcasting live as the European-Chinese Smile mission launches at 04:52 BST/05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026.Smile will launch on a European Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.Times subject to change at short notice.

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[ Smile ]

23 AIBR. 2026

Smile set to launch on 19 May

The European-Chinese Smile mission is due to launch on Tuesday 19 May 2026, at 05:52 CEST / 04:52 BST / 00:52 local time on a European Vega-C rocket.

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Featured images

All Smile images

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[ Smile ]

17 FEAB. 2022

Smile factsheet

Overview of the Smile mission

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[ Smile ]

11 NOLL. 2023

Top three mysteries Smile will solve

There are spacecraft already observing the Sun and its effect on Earth’s environment. But these missions mostly study local processes and individual ‘space weather’ events. Smile, on the other hand, will view the full Sun-Earth connection, filling an essential gap in our understanding of the Solar System.

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[ Smile ]

12 NOLL. 2023

From Cluster to Smile

The European Space Agency’s Solar wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Link Explorer (Smile) mission builds on and complements the Cluster mission.

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[ Smile ]

16 FEAB. 2026

Smile's X-ray vision

The European-Chinese Smile mission will reveal the interaction between the solar wind and Earth using four unique instruments. The largest is the soft X-ray imager (SXI), which will make the first-ever X-ray observations of Earth’s magnetic field.

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Smile

The mission

The launch