UK leads in SMILE space mission to study Earth’s magnetic shield

An international space mission designed to reveal how Earth is protected from harmful solar activity has successfully launched into orbit

The UK is playing a critical role in this mission, both in the science and technology behind the scenes.

The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, known as SMILE, lifted off aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 19 May 2026.

SMILE is a collaboration between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and it aims to study the interaction between the sun and Earth’s magnetic field.

Scientists hope that SMILE will create a complete picture of how Earth’s magnetic shield responds to the constant stream of charged particles from the sun, known as the solar wind. By doing this, it is expected that forecasting severe space weather events will improve. These events can disrupt GPS navigation, communications systems, satellites and even power grids.

Earth’s magnetic field acts like a protective bubble, shielding the planet from dangerous solar radiation. However, when intense solar activity occurs, the magnetic field can become disturbed, triggering geomagnetic storms.

These events can have serious consequences for modern infrastructure. Satellites may malfunction, radio communications can fail, and ground-based electrical systems may experience outages. According to previous UK assessments, a severe space weather event could cost the British economy billions of pounds.

SMILE is in place to help scientists understand how these storms develop and how Earth’s magnetic shield responds under different conditions. The mission will gather data that could lead to more accurate warnings and improved resilience for essential services.

The UK Space Agency has invested £15 million into Britain’s involvement in the mission, supporting leading universities and specialist space companies.

Researchers at University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory are helping lead the mission’s scientific work, while the University of Leicester has developed one of SMILE’s components, the Soft X-ray Imager.

The Soft X-ray Imager is the first of its kind, capable of observing Earth’s magnetic boundary in X-rays. Using advanced “lobster-eye” optics technology developed in Leicester, scientists will be able to directly image where the solar wind collides with the planet’s magnetic shield.

British companies supporting SMILE

Several UK companies have contributed hardware and software to the spacecraft.

Chelmsford-based Teledyne e2v supplied advanced CCD detectors for the X-ray imaging system. These are the largest detectors ever flown for this type of space observation and were specially designed to withstand the harsh radiation environment of space.

Photek Ltd worked on the spacecraft’s ultraviolet imaging system, which will provide long-duration observations of the aurora, including continuous views of the northern lights for up to 45 hours.

Other British firms contributed specialist wiring systems and onboard software that controls the spacecraft’s scientific instruments and manages the flow of data back to Earth.

Testing for the mission was also carried out at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space facilities in the UK.

SMILE is expected to strengthen global space weather forecasting capabilities at a time when societies are increasingly dependent on satellite technology and digital infrastructure.

SMILE will also investigate unanswered questions about how the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic environment, what creates disturbances on the night side of the planet, and how dangerous solar storms can be predicted more effectively.