SMILE (satellite)

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SMILE , acronym for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer , is a planned joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Starting in 2023, SMILE will observe Template: future / in 3 yearsthe interaction between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind and examine the plasma at the location of the probe. In 2015, SMILE was selected by ESA and CAS from 13 proposals for a joint small mission and is the S2 mission of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 .

Goals and structure

With its own telescopes, SMILE will for the first time observe soft X-rays from the magnetosphere and, at the same time, ultraviolet radiation from the aurora . At the same time, similar to earlier missions in space plasma physics, the local properties of the plasma of the solar wind and the magnetosphere at the location of the probe are to be measured.

The tools of SMILE are:

  • Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) - a telescope for soft X-rays
  • UV Imager (UVI) - a telescope for ultraviolet radiation
  • Light Ion Analyzer (LIA) - for measuring the properties of the ionized plasma at the location of the probe
  • Magnetometer (MAG) - for measuring the magnetic fields at the location of the probe.

The structure and drive module of the probe are provided by CAS. ESA is responsible for the payload module and launch. The scientific instruments are developed by institutes in Europe, China and Canada. SMILE is to be brought into a highly elliptical earth orbit .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Canada Joins European and Chinese SMILE Space Weather Mission . spaceQ, July 23, 2019.