{"id":587317,"date":"2026-08-17T10:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/587317\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T10:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:46:16","slug":"a-single-solar-storm-could-knock-out-earths-tech-this-plucky-spacecraft-could-be-our-best-weapon-to-help-protect-our-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/587317\/","title":{"rendered":"A single solar storm could knock out Earth\u2019s tech. This plucky spacecraft could be our best weapon to help protect our planet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sun has a greater influence on the planets and bodies of our Solar System than you might think.<\/p>\n

A constant stream of charged particles flows off the Sun, known as the solar wind, that hits and deforms Earth\u2019s magnetic field into a region called the magnetosphere.<\/p>\n

SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, aiming to study the interaction between Earth\u2019s magnetosphere and the Sun.<\/p>\n

Scientists say the mission will aim to give us the first image of the magnetosphere using X-rays generated when the solar wind gets stopped by Earth\u2019s magnetic field.<\/p>\n

\"NASACredit: NASA\/SDO<\/p>\n

\"Artist'sArtist’s impression of the ESA SMILE mission. Credit: ESA. Work performed by ATG under contract to ESA<\/p>\n

Until now, we\u2019ve been able to \u2018feel\u2019 the magnetosphere, but we\u2019ve never seen it. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Jennifer Carter is the co-principal investigator for SMILE\u2019s soft X-ray imager, based at Leicester University in the UK.<\/p>\n

Colin Forsyth is co-principal investigator for the SMILE mission, based at University College London\u2019s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, also in the UK.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Jennifer and Colin to find out more about the mission and what discoveries it may make.<\/p>\n

\"JenniferJennifer Carter and Colin Forsyth of ESA’s SMILE mission
\nWhat are the main goals of SMILE?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colin: Firstly, to understand how the solar wind and magnetosphere interact.<\/p>\n

Secondly, to understand what we call substorms, explosive releases of energy in the magnetosphere that cause the aurorae to brighten.<\/p>\n

Lastly, we want to understand what happens when Earth gets hit by coronal mass ejections.<\/p>\n

These enormous eruptions on the Sun send matter through the solar wind in a sort of cohesive cloud.<\/p>\n

When they hit Earth, they compress the magnetosphere, changing the space environment around us.<\/p>\n

We want to understand how these go on to impact things on the ground or in space.<\/p>\n

\"SpaceSpace weather includes powerful eruptions like coronal mass ejections, as seen here by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Credit: NASA\/SOHO
\nHow does space weather affect Earth?<\/p>\n

Colin: The range of effects is enormous.<\/p>\n

Currents flowing in the upper atmosphere can induce currents in the ground that can then transfer energy into infrastructure like powerlines, railways and pipelines, and damage them.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, these currents caused a widespread blackout in Canada. You also get disruptions to communications and to spacecraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How long did SMILE take to build?<\/p>\n

Jennifer: SMILE was selected by the agencies in 2015 and delivered in 2024.<\/p>\n

The development cycle was compressed, with a planned turnaround of about six years. That\u2019s really fast.<\/p>\n

We then had to change some of the components, which took at least a year.<\/p>\n

Covid was a big challenge. It hit just at the point where the instruments were starting to be built. It caused about a one-year delay.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe SMILE spacecraft during a test its magnetometer boom deployment. Credit: ESA
\nWhat are the instruments on SMILE?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jennifer: There\u2019s the soft X-ray imager (SXI), an X-ray telescope which was UK-built and whose components come from across Europe.<\/p>\n

There is an ultraviolet imager, which is going to be pointed back at aurorae in the Northern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n

We also have two in-situ instruments. They\u2019re going to measure the plasma and the magnetic field around the spacecraft. One is a magnetometer that\u2019s on a 3-metre (10ft) boom.<\/p>\n

Video showing how the ESA SMILE mission was prepped, ready for launch. Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
\nWhat was the launch process like?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jennifer: The launch was on 19 May 2026 in French Guiana. The launchpad was 15km (9 miles) away and we had a view of the rocket sticking up above the rainforest canopy.<\/p>\n

As T-minus hit, the nerves came back. Then the whole sky lit up.<\/p>\n

At first, we saw the glow and then it got bigger and started moving. It took time for the sound to travel to us; before that, it was effectively silent.<\/p>\n

Then 45 seconds later, we heard and felt it, like a growl coming towards us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colin: At 57 minutes after launch, the upper stage separated from the spacecraft. Then we got the first signal back confirming that the solar panels had deployed.<\/p>\n

The two mission managers in mission control put their arms up in the air. That was our moment. After a decade of work, we had a mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Video showing the launch of the ESA SMILE satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe\u2019s Spaceport in French Guiana, 04:52 BST on 19 May 2026. Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
\nWhat\u2019s next for your team?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colin: We\u2019ve got about a month of planning what we\u2019re going to do with the data when we eventually get it. Then we have to take our time with it to do everything right.<\/p>\n

SXI is a very new instrument. It comes from an X-ray astronomy heritage but it\u2019s serving a different scientific community, so there\u2019s a lot to learn.<\/p>\n

People really want this mission to succeed and are excited about it.<\/p>\n

A real measure of success for us would be hearing from a scientist somewhere else in the world that they\u2019ve done something we didn\u2019t expect with the SMILE data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sun has a greater influence on the planets and bodies of our Solar System than you might…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[85,46,141],"class_list":["post-587317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}