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Smile is a brand-new space mission currently in the making. It will study how Earth responds to the solar wind and solar storms.

At the European Space Agency’s technical heart in the Netherlands, engineers have taken Smile through the final steps of testing and past its qualification and flight acceptance review – confirming that it is ready for launch in spring 2026.

This video let’s viewers peek into the testing and review process. It is the fourth episode in a series of short videos, and includes interviews with David Agnolon (ESA Smile Project Manager), Xia Jiayi (CAS Thermal Engineer), Ana Carillo Pérez (Airbus AIT Electrical and Functional Lead Engineer), Adriana González Castro (ESA Smile Project Controller), Li Jing (CAS Smile Project Manager) and Carole Mundell (ESA Director of Science).

Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Smile is due to launch on a European Vega-C rocket in spring 2026. Follow the latest mission news via esa.int/smile.

Access the related broadcast quality video material 

Access the other episodes of ‘Let’s Smile’

Testing, testing, testing – Let’s Smile (episode 3)

Completing the spacecraft – Let’s Smile (episode 2)

Introducing the Smile mission – Let’s Smile (episode 1)

Smile’s other half arrives – Let’s Smile (action snippet)

The press conference, at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, follows the signing of contracts between Thales Alenia Space Italy, UK and France, OHB system AG (Germany) and Nammo (UK) for the ESA’s lunar lander programme Argonaut.

The programme is a key part of ESA’s lunar strategy and will support future robotic and crewed missions, contributing to international efforts to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon.

Since becoming operational in 2016, Galileo has continued to evolve, introducing new capabilities and services to meet the needs of its over five billion users.

This December, two new Galileo satellites will launch aboard Ariane 6 - a major step for Europe’s autonomy and resilience in space.

And the journey doesn’t stop there: twelve Galileo Second Generation satellites are under construction, set to deliver even faster, more reliable positioning, navigation, and timing for everyone, everywhere.

Copernicus Sentinel-6B was launched on 17 November 2025, ready to continue a decades-long mission to track the height of the planet’s seas – a key measure of climate change. The satellite was carried into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US.

Sentinel-6B follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, which was launched in 2020. The mission is the reference radar altimetry mission that continues the vital record of sea-surface height measurements until at least 2030.

Copernicus Sentinel-6 has become the gold standard reference mission to monitor and record sea-level rise. The mission’s main instrument is the Poseidon-4 dual-frequency (C-band and Ku-band) radar altimeter. Developed by ESA, the altimeter measures sea-surface height. It also captures the height of ‘significant’ waves as well as wind speed to support operational oceanography.

The Sun is always mesmerising to watch, but Solar Orbiter captured a special treat on camera: a dark ‘prominence’ sticking out from the side of the Sun.   

The dark-looking material is dense plasma (charged gas) trapped by the Sun's complex magnetic field. It looks dark because it is cooler than its surroundings, being around 10 000 °C compared to the surrounding million-degree plasma.  

When viewed against the background of space, the hovering plasma is referred to as a prominence. When viewed against the Sun's surface, it is called a filament. (In this image you can see examples of both.) 

Solar prominences and filaments extend for tens of thousands of kilometres, several times the diameter of Earth. They can last days or even months. This video shows one hour of footage, sped up to make movement more clearly visible.  

Solar Orbiter recorded this video with its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument on 17 March 2025. At the time, the spacecraft was around 63 million km from the Sun, similar to planet Mercury. 

Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA. The EUI instrument is led by the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB). 

[Video description: Close-up video of the Sun, filling the left half of the view, its surface covered what looks like moving, glowing hairs accompanied by some short-lived bright arcs. Protruding to the right, in the centre of the video, is dark material that looks almost feathery, with thin streaks flowing both away from and towards the Sun.] 

ESA has set five goals to achieve by 2040. Goal 5 is to Inspire Europe. 

ESA and its 23 Member States share an ambitious vision for Europe’s future, united by curiosity, driven by excellence and inspired by the endless sky above us. 

Through education, cooperation and world-leading missions, ESA empowers every generation to look up, imagine more and help elevate Europe’s future. 

At the ESA Council at Ministerial Level held on 26 and 27 November 2025, Europe will take the next step in this shared journey as part of Strategy 2040. 

Learn more about ESA’s Strategy 2040 here. 

Access all Five Goals videos. 

ESA has set five goals to achieve by 2040. Goal 3 is to Strengthen Autonomy and Resilience. 

By developing advanced communication networks and world-leading European observation and navigation capabilities, ESA ensures Europe can rely on secure, independent and resilient space services, supporting citizens, businesses and governments in an evolving world. 

At the ESA Council at Ministerial Level held on 26 and 27 November 2025, ESA and its Member States will advance key programmes to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy as part of Strategy 2040. 

Learn more about ESA’s Strategy 2040 here. 

Access all Five Goals videos.