Dr Colin Forsyth on ESA SMILE Briefing Panel

SMILE is an exciting new mission to study Earth’s magnetosphere through novel imaging and as well as in-situ measurements. The joint ESA-CAS (Chinese Academy of Sciences) mission is due to launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on the 9th April. MSSL is the scientific co-lead through mission Co-PI Colin Forsyth, as well as providing the front end electronics for the Soft X-ray Imager and calibration support for the Light Ion Analyser.

The media briefing included representatives from ESA, CAS , Airbus and AVIO as well as MSSL. The panel members discussed the science and technology behind the SMILE mission, the Vega-C launcher as well as the working relationship between ESA and CAS. 

The media briefing was broadcast on ESA TV and is available to view via YouTube and the ESA Website.