Joint ESA-China SMILE mission set for launch to study Earth's magnetic shield A pioneering joint ESA-China science mission to study Earth's magnetosphere is set to launch May 19, after a decade of preparations.
A pioneering joint ESA-China science mission to study Earth's magnetosphere is set to launch May 19, after a decade of preparations.
The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission, jointly developed by the European Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is set to launch on a Vega C rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, in South America at 11:52 p. m. Eastern May 18 (0352 UTC or 0052 local time May 19).
