ESA Space Science

The launch of the 4DSpace-Daedalus mission in Norway is the latest success supported by Prodex, a European Space Agency (ESA) programme which enables highly skilled research institutes to partake in European space science activities and missions.

Follow the total solar eclipse with the European Space Agency (ESA), in person or online. 

ESA’s Smile satellite launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026.

Smile flew to space on Vega-C flight VV29. At 35 m tall, a Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and the rocket used three solid-propellant-powered stages to take Smile to orbit before the fourth liquid-propellant stage took over for a precise drop-off around Earth.Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Smile will use four science instruments to study how Earth responds to the solar wind from the Sun. In doing so, Smile will improve our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms and the science of space weather.

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The Smile spacecraft lifted off on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026. The launch marks the beginning of an ambitious mission to better understand solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and the science of space weather.

Before Smile can begin studying how Earth responds to the streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun, the spacecraft had to complete an extraordinary journey here on Earth.

Follow the mission through its final launch preparations at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, from fuelling and encapsulation inside its protective fairing, to meeting the rest of the Vega-C rocket that will take it to space.

Smile is flying to space on Vega-C flight VV29. At 35 m tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and the rocket will take Smile to orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for a precise drop-off around Earth.

Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint European-Chinese mission to study the interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic environment from a unique highly elliptical orbit. During the next three years, it will go high above the North Pole every two days to collect X-ray and ultraviolet images of Earth’s magnetic shield and the northern lights.

This month, ESA’s Mars Express takes us to Shalbatana Vallis: a fascinating martian valley surrounded by signs of water, lava, craters and chaos.

ESA will be broadcasting live as the European-Chinese Smile mission launches at 04:52 BST/05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026.

Smile will launch on a European Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Times subject to change at short notice.

Our next space science mission is about to begin its space adventure.

After more than 10 years of designing, developing, building and testing, Smile is now ready for action.

Its ride to space will be a Vega-C rocket, departing from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 19 May. The rocket will drop Smile off in a circular orbit 700 km above Earth’s surface.

Smile will then fire its own engines 11 times, taking itself higher and higher above the North Pole. From there, it will use X-ray and ultraviolet vision to watch how Earth defends itself from streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun. Nobody has ever seen Earth’s magnetic shield like this before.

Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Learn more about Smile.

ESA has selected six new Fellows to pursue their own independent research in space science in 2026. The Research Fellowships in space science represent one of the highlights of the ESA Science programme.

Early career postdoctoral scientists are offered the unique opportunity to carry out advanced research related to the space science areas covered by ESA Science missions at one of three ESA establishments (ESAC, ESTEC or STScI) for a period of up to three years.

The 2026 Research Fellows in space science are, Emma Esparza-Borges, Ekaterina Ilin, Gregor Rihtaršič, Peter Stephenson, Paola I. Tiranti, and Jiří Žák.

Their research spans a broad range of exciting topics in the fields of heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, and fundamental physics. For example, they will investigate the nature of dark matter using galaxy cluster collisions, learn how Jupiter’s atmosphere works using the observations of the famous Great Red Spot, and explore the evolutionary pathways of exoplanets. More information about the Fellows and their research can be found here

[Image description: Graphic with space-y background, a title 'Research Fellows in space science 2026' and photos of six people with their names: Emma Esparza-Borges, Ekaterina Ilin, Gregor Rihtaršič, Peter Stephenson, Paola I. Tiranti, and Jiří Žák.]

The European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are joining hands to uncover how Earth defends itself against dangerous particles and radiation from the Sun.

It’s the first time we will have images and videos of what happens when this solar wind crashes into our magnetic field. Smile will witness this interaction in action, using four onboard instruments to watch the drama unfold.

Life can only exist as we know it when nestled safe inside this giant magnetic bubble surrounding our planet. By imaging the bubble as a whole for the first time, Smile will help us build up the fundamental understanding that space weather forecasting will ultimately depend on.

Learn more about Smile.

What really happens when the Sun’s charged particles slam into Earth’s magnetic shield? 

Smile is about to reveal it for the first time.

This groundbreaking mission will observe Earth’s magnetosphere in X-rays while capturing the northern lights in ultraviolet, offering an entirely new way to see how our planet defends itself from solar storms.

A joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Smile will launch aboard a Vega-C rocket on 9 April.

Learn more about Smile.