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WANG Chi, ESCOUBET Philippe, FORSYTH Colin, DAI Lei, REN Yong, LI Jing, LI Huawang, KONG Linggao, WANG Jindong, WANG Yongmei. Recent Scientific Progress and Mission Update for the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE). Chinese Journal of Space Science, 2026, 46(4): 944-960 doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.04.2026-yg10
Citation: WANG Chi, ESCOUBET Philippe, FORSYTH Colin, DAI Lei, REN Yong, LI Jing, LI Huawang, KONG Linggao, WANG Jindong, WANG Yongmei. Recent Scientific Progress and Mission Update for the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE). Chinese Journal of Space Science, 2026, 46(4): 944-960 doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.04.2026-yg10
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Recent Scientific Progress and Mission Update for the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE)

doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.04.2026-yg10 cstr: 32142.14.cjss.2026-yg10
  • 1.

    National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190

  • 2.

    European Space Agency/European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk 2201 AZ

  • 3.

    Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, London RH5 6 NT

  • 4.

    Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201304

  • 5.

    Institute of Science and Technology for Deep Space Exploration, Suzhou Campus, Nanjing University, Suzhou 215163

Funds:  Funded by the Strategic Priority Research Program on Space Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA15350000)
More Information
  • Author Bio:

    The Director of the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and an Academician of CAS and the International Academy of Astronautics. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1990 and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998. His research focuses on space physics and space weather. He currently serves as Chief Scientist of Phase IV of China’s Lunar Exploration Program, the Chinese Principal Investigator of the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission, and Commander-in-Chief of Phase II of the Chinese Meridian Project. His honors include the Special Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Qian Xuesen Outstanding Contribution Award, and the First Prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award of the Chinese Geoscience Union

  • Received Date: 2026-05-20
    Available Online: 2026-07-20
    Abstract
  • The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission aims to study solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling globally. This review summarizes recent scientific progress and mission status relevant to future SMILE observations. The focus is on dayside magnetopause and cusp dynamics, soft X-ray image interpretation, magnetic-reconnection-driven convection, and storm-substorm coupling. The recent progress of the SMILE platform, payloads, ground segment, and commissioning plan is also briefly reviewed. These studies and mission developments provide the physical and observational basis for interpreting SMILE observations during the early science phase and beyond.

     

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    • References(14)
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