A joint European-Chinese spacecraft called Smile is ready to begin its scientific work. On September 23, the mission was declared ready to start studying how Earth responds to the solar wind. This wind is a stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun. Smile launched on May 19 and reached its science orbit on June 20. Since then, teams have switched on its systems and fixed problems that came up.
The spacecraft carries four science instruments. Together they will help researchers understand solar storms and space weather, which can affect electronics on and around Earth. One camera has already filmed the full ring of northern lights around the North Pole in ultraviolet light. It is the first camera to capture this view since 2008. It can now record the auroras for 45 hours at a time. The X-ray camera works well, but it still picks up too much stray light when pointed toward Earth. Engineers are adjusting its settings and software to reduce the problem.