The SMILE satellite — short for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer — is a major joint space mission between China and the European Space Agency (ESA). SMILE studies how solar winds affect Earth's magnetosphere, using X‑ray and UV imagers to capture these invisible interactions. It was launched on May 19 from Kourou, French Guiana, and has accurately entered its designated orbit for scientific observation.

This week, an ESA team arrived in Beijing to join their Chinese counterparts in carrying out initial system checks.