SMILE LIA
The Smile Light Ion Analyser provides in-situ measurements of the magnetosheath, solar wind and magnetosphere ions in the vicinity of the Smile spacecraft
The Light Ion Analyser (LIA, Co-PI: Dr. Georgios Nicolaou) is a twin-head electrostatic analyser attached to the body of the Smile spacecraft. LIA will measure the distribution function of ions as Smile passes through the magnetosheath, solar wind and magnetosphere, providing direct measurements of the plasma impacting on the magnetopause.
LIA was designed and built by the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The two heads enable the instrument to detect ions coming from any direction in an energy range of 5 eV to 25 keV and with a time resolution of up to 0.2 s.
In the summer of 2025, the LIA instruments were cross calibrated in the LEPIC facility at MSSL. We found excellent agreement between the results from the calibrations at MSSL and at the NSSC.
