ESA ensures a ride into space for its @ESA_Smile mission, with Arianespace signing up to launch the spacecraft on a Vega-C rocket 🚀 Find out more 👉 esa.int/Science_Explor…

☀️🌬️🌍 The @ESA_Smile mission will improve our understanding of how Earth responds to space weather and solar storms. The protective magnetic bubble that surrounds Earth is invisible to our eyes, but with its UV and X-ray cameras, #ESASmile will reveal how it works. Find out

☀️🌬️🌍 Here are the top three mysteries ESA_Smile aims to solve: 🌬️ 🛡️ What happens where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetic shield? 🧲❌ What causes magnetic glitches on the dark side of Earth? 🚨 ⚡️ How can we predict the most dangerous space weather threats in advance?

🤔 What happens where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetic shield? 🩻 This is one of the questions ESA_Smile aims to answer by observing soft X-rays and extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. The mission will study Earth’s magnetic environment on a global scale, building a more

"It will leave a very impressive legacy": the first satellite of the European Space Agency Cluster mission investigating Earth's magnetosphere, which involved Prof Andrew Fazakerley and others MullardSpaceScience UCL Mathematical & Physical Sciences, has safely returned to Earth after 24 years in space ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/sep/…

We had a busy summer this year! Including running a new Space School in London for secondary students. Find out about the partnership: staracademies.org/news-story/ste…

Over the past few weeks we have welcomed colleagues from the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to cross-calibrate the Light Ion Analyser for ESA_Smile ahead of the instrument being integrated onto the spacecraft. UCL Mathematical & Physical Sciences UK Space Agency

Hello, Smile! 👋 🌞↔️🌍 Enjoy this view of the spacecraft that will observe the full Sun-Earth connection, filling an essential gap in our understanding of the Solar System. youtube.com/watch?v=jiTfxA…

The Jocelyn Bell Burnell Medal and Prize has been won by Dr Catherine Elizabeth Regan of MullardSpaceScience for exceptional leadership of the Eyes on Mars project, engaging diverse audiences and inspiring our next generation of scientists, alongside high-impact and novel research on

Congratulations to the UK Cluster team for their Sir Arthur Clarke award given for their major role in the multi-spacecraft mission (that produced 1000s of papers), leading 3 of the 11 instruments & hosting the Science Operations Centre. Photo: Natasha & Andrew from MullardSpaceScience

Great to see ESA_Smile starting to come together!

Congratulations to Dr. Paola Pinilla, who has been awarded the @RoyaAstroSoc Price Award for her world-leading work on protoplanetary disks - the gas and dust around young stars where planets are born ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/jan/…

Meet ESA_Smile. The soon-to-be newest member of our space science mission fleet. Employing X-ray and UV vision to see how Earth reacts to relentless streams and bursts of particles from the Sun. Dive into the Smile mission here 👉 esa.int/Science_Explor…

Work led by British Geological Survey with Andy Smith, me and others highlighted in Eos. Our models forecast particular geomagnetic storms and the likelihood of damaging magnetic field fluctuations in the UK

Every test brings us a step closer to launch #SMILEesacas esa.int/Science_Explor…