[REVISION HISTORY]

SMILE space weather mission operations

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2026-10-04 15:03 UTC → 2026-10-09 16:39 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) mission, a joint collaboration between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has transitioned from its commissioning phase to active scientific operations. Launched in May 2026, the spacecraft reached its target highly elliptical orbit in June. Following several months of testing instruments and verifying communications, the mission is now collecting data to study the interactions between solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field. The mission utilizes a soft X-ray imager and an ultraviolet camera to observe the magnetosphere and auroras. Following the conclusion of the commissioning phase on September 23, 2026, the mission’s Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) has produced unprecedented footage, including a complete ring of aurora borealis around the North Pole. By operating in the ultraviolet spectrum, the UVI can filter out daylight, enabling scientists to observe auroral activity on the sunlit side of Earth with a level of clarity not achieved since 2008. On October 9, 2026, the mission released its first ultraviolet images of Earth’s aurora, capturing a massive auroral ring circling the North Pole that covers approximately one-third of the Earth's visible disk. While the mission is confirmed to be in its operational scientific phase, the X-ray camera is currently undergoing calibration to reduce stray light interference. Initial scientific outputs include a 45-hour continuous ultraviolet observation of the northern lights and X-ray imagery of a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The mission aims to improve space weather forecasting to protect electronic infrastructure and satellites from geomagnetic storms by decoding how charged particles from the Sun trigger such events.

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