UK Plays Leading Role as Landmark Mission Launches to Unlock Secrets of Earth’s Magnetic Shield
By Science Correspondent
UK scientists and companies, including a team from University of Leicester, are playing a key role in a major international mission launched to improve understanding of how Earth is protected from the Sun.
The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from French Guiana on Tuesday as part of a joint project between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The spacecraft will give scientists the first full picture of how Earth’s magnetic field reacts to solar wind — streams of charged particles released by the Sun.
Solar storms can disrupt GPS systems, communications satellites and power grids, with the UK’s potential economic impact estimated at around £9 billion in a 2022 Met Office assessment.
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Scientists hope SMILE will improve space weather forecasting and help reduce the impact of severe solar storms on critical infrastructure.
The UK Space Agency has provided £15 million towards the mission, supporting British research and technology.
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Vega-C liftoff from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, carrying the Smile mission. Credit: ESA-S. Corvaja
Researchers from the University of Leicester led the European consortium responsible for the spacecraft’s Soft X-ray Imager, which will observe Earth’s magnetic shield in X-rays for the first time.
Dr Steven Sembay, from the university’s School of Physics and Astronomy, said:
“It has been an honour to lead the development of the Soft X-ray Imager and work with an incredibly talented and motivated team.
“Now we will soon move from the engineering challenges of delivering the hardware to the data analysis challenges of providing the scientific community with the data products that should be transformative in the study of the Sun-Earth interaction. Exciting times ahead!”
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The mission also includes major contributions from UK companies, including detector technology, imaging systems and onboard software.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd said:
“SMILE is an excellent example of what British science and industry can achieve on the world stage.
“Understanding how our planet’s magnetic shield protects us from the Sun isn’t just fascinating science — it has real consequences for how we safeguard our satellites, our infrastructure and our astronauts.”
