Smile is a brand-new space mission currently in the making. It will study space weather and the interaction between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic environment.

At the European Space Agency’s technical heart in the Netherlands, engineers have spent the last five months unboxing and testing different elements of the spacecraft, and joining the two main parts together. Due to launch by the end of 2025, Smile is now well on its way to being ready for space.

This video provides a glimpse into what we’ve been up to recently. It is the second episode in a series of short videos, and includes interviews with Adriana González Castro (ESA Smile Project Controller), Walfried Raab (ESA Smile Lead Payload Engineer), Sylvain Vey (ESA Smile Instrument and Operations Interface Engineer), Li Jing (CAS Smile Project Manager), Benjamin Vanoutryve (Smile AIT/AIV and Launcher Interface Principal Engineer), and José Ignacio Maestra Onteniente (Airbus Smile AIT Manager).

Access the other episodes of ‘Let’s Smile’

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

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

Smile (the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) is a 50–50 collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).