VV29 mission in a nutshell

The VV29 mission marks the first Vega-C launch of 2026 from Europe’s Spaceport and the seventh Vega-C flight overall since its inaugural launch in July 2022. It is also the first Vega-C mission to be operated by Avio.

Smile stands for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer. It is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

It will give humankind its first complete look at how Earth reacts to streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun.

Four instruments on board

Smile will reveal the interaction between the solar wind and Earth using four unique instruments. Each will collect a vital puzzle piece of information that, when combined with information from the other three instruments, will reveal our magnetosphere in a whole new light.

• Ultraviolet aurora imager (UVI) (Led by CAS, contributions from ESA) - Recording the northern lights to see how the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere influences the auroras.
• Soft X-ray imager (SXI) (Led by ESA) - Photographing the magnetosphere to see how Earth’s magnetic
  shield defends us against dangers from the Sun.
• Light ion analyser (LIA) (Led by CAS) - Collecting solar wind particles with two sensors to measure the Sun’s attack against Earth’s defence.
• Magnetometer (MAG) (Led by CAS) - Measuring the magnetic field carried by the solar wind, to compare the Sun’s attack against Earth’s defence.

Smile builds on scientific and technological heritage from previous ESA space science missions such as ROSAT, XMM-Newton, Cluster, Swarm, SOHO or Solar Orbiter. It will collect data that complements past and current missions. And it is already paving the way for future space weather research.

The nominal duration of the mission (from lift-off to separation of the satellite) is: 57 minutes.

Seperation of satellite :57 minutes.