European Space Agency launches ‘Smile’ mission

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a new mission on Tuesday to study how the Earth’s magnetic shield responds to space weather.

The Smile satellite lifted off from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, aboard a Vega-C rocket at 0352 GMT on Tuesday. Smile stands for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer.

It is equipped with four measuring instruments designed to measure solar wind, high-energy solar flares and the response of Earth’s magnetic shield.

Experts hope the mission will deepen understanding of Earth’s magnetic shield and clarify how solar wind triggers phenomena such as the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland are also taking part in the European-Chinese project.

The European rocket is to place the satellite into a low Earth orbit at an altitude of around 700 kilometres. After several manoeuvres in space, Smile will move into an oval-shaped orbit around Earth, reaching a maximum distance of about 121,000 kilometres.