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The mission

ESA’s three-satellite Swarm mission is dedicated to unravelling one of the most mysterious aspects of our planet: the magnetic field. Although invisible, the magnetic field and electric currents in and around Earth generate complex forces that have immeasurable impact on everyday life. By analysing the different characteristics of the observed field, Swarm will lead to new insight into many natural processes, from those occurring deep inside the planet to weather in space caused by solar activity.


The launch

Date: 22 November 2013
Site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
Launcher: Rockot

Swarm.png
1st Explorer constellation
3 identical satellites
1st sensors of their kind

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[ Swarm ]
High-energy protons during solar storm over the North Pole
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 11 DEC. 2025

Swarm detects rare proton spike during solar storm

The European Space Agency’s Swarm mission detected a large but temporary spike of high-energy protons at Earth’s poles during a geomagnetic storm in November. It did this not with the scientific instruments for measuring Earth’s magnetic field, but with its ‘star tracker’ positioning instruments – a first for the Swarm mission.
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[ Swarm ]
South Atlantic Anomaly 2025 compared to 2014
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 13 OCT. 2025

Swarm reveals growing weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field

Using 11 years of magnetic field measurements from the European Space Agency’s Swarm satellite constellation, scientists have discovered that the weak region in Earth’s magnetic field over the South Atlantic – known as the South Atlantic Anomaly – has expanded by an area nearly half the size of continental Europe since 2014.
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[ Swarm ]
Atmospheric hot flush during a solar storm
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 27 JUN. 2025

Swarm in tune with atmospheric hot flushes

Scientists are harnessing data from ESA’s Swarm mission and ground-based instruments to precisely measure the strength and duration of intense upper-atmosphere heating – dramatic ‘hot flushes’ triggered by solar storms that also cause Earth’s tenuous outer atmospheric layers to expand rapidly.This research, funded by ESA's Earth Observation FutureEO Science for Society initiative, offers crucial insights into how geomagnetic activity affects satellite orbits and space weather conditions.
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[ Swarm ]
Swarm detects tidal magnetic signatures
ARCHIVE CONTENT: 22 JAN. 2025

Swarm detects tidal signatures of our oceans

A study using data from ESA’s Swarm mission suggests that faint magnetic signatures created by Earth’s tides can help us determine magma distribution under the seabed and could even give us insights into long-term trends in global ocean temperatures and salinity.
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Which geomagnetic storm was the biggest?

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The northern lights

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[ Swarm ]
Artist's view of Swarm
23 OCT. 2013

Introducing Swarm

ESA’s magnetic field mission is dedicated to unravelling one of the most mysterious aspects of our planet: the magnetic field.
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[ Swarm ]
Our protective shield
23 OCT. 2013

Our protective shield

In simple terms, Earth’s magnetic field behaves as if there were a powerful bar magnet at the centre of the planet, tilted at about 11° to the axis of rotation.
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[ Swarm ]
The seafloor acts as a geological 'tape recorder'
24 OCT. 2013

From core to crust

By making key observations to untangle and model the many sources and strengths of Earth’s continuously changing magnetic field, the Swarm mission is set to advance many areas of Earth science.
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[ Swarm ]
Aurora borealis
31 JUL. 2014

Earth’s external environment

Swarm will not only lead to a better understanding of Earth’s interior, but also about Earth’s external environment and the complicated system that connects our planet and the Sun.
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Europe from space

Earth Observation Programmes

Only space provides the perspective to understand, monitor and act on our changing world.
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Earth Explorers icon
25 SEP. 2026

Earth Explorers

The need to understand more about the intricacies of how Earth works as a system and how humanity is affecting natural processes is more urgent than ever so that appropriate policies to act on the climate crisis can be put in place and environmental challenges such as those outlined in Europe’s Green Deal can be addressed as effectively as possible. Through FutureEO, the series of world-class Earth Explorer research satellite missions are realised.
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