A joint mission from the European Space Agency and China’s Academy of Sciences has launched the Smile spacecraft to study Earth’s magnetic shield with X-ray and ultraviolet observations—aimed at seeing how the “invisible armour” responds to solar wind. The lau
For the first time. a new spacecraft is set up to watch Earth’s magnetic shield behave in X-rays—tracking how it reacts as solar wind sweeps past. The Smile mission. a joint effort from the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. lifted off on May 19 atop a Vega-C rocket from French Guiana. and is expected to begin collecting data in July.
Smile—Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer—will focus on the planet’s “invisible armour” using an X-ray camera and an ultraviolet camera. plus a light ion analyzer and a magnetometer. The spacecraft will also observe the northern lights in ultraviolet for stretches of 45 minutes at a time. longer than any other mission.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said, “We are about to witness something we’ve never seen before — Earth’s invisible armour in action.”
Later. when the mission starts returning data. ESA Smile Project Scientist Philippe Escoubet expects the payoff to be practical as well as scientific. “The evidence that Smile collects will help us better understand planet Earth and our solar system as a whole. ” he said. “And the science it uncovers will improve our models of Earth’s magnetic environment. which could ultimately help keep our astronauts and space technologies safe for decades to come.”.
The point of capturing those responses—continuously, and in multiple wavelengths—isn’t just curiosity. If the measurements sharpen how scientists model Earth’s magnetic environment, then forecasting space weather and understanding where it can become hazardous becomes more grounded in observation.
That theme—what we think we know. and what better data might change—shows up elsewhere in this week’s science headlines too. Colossal Biosciences. a buzzy “de-extinction” biotech company previously known for claims around reviving the dire wolf. announced it has hatched 26 healthy chicks from 3D-printed artificial eggshells. The company says the step is meant to support its goal of bringing back the South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus). extinct for some 600 years. and the dodo.
Colossal’s artificial eggshell uses a semi-permeable silicone-based membrane lattice that lets oxygen pass through while still protecting the inner contents. paired with a rigid support cup. The embryo is taken from an egg laid in the usual way, by a hen. In a blog post. Colossal wrote: “In the current workflow. scientists examine eggs laid by real hens within 24 to 48 hours of laying. select viable candidates. and transfer the contents — minus the shell — into the artificial egg structure.” It also said: “All upstream biology. from fertilization through laying. still occurs in a living bird. For de-extinction applications, the artificial egg is intended as a later-stage incubation vessel, not the point of genetic intervention.”.
The company argues scale matters for the moa: it says moa eggs are roughly eight times the size of an emu’s. so no species alive today could serve as a surrogate for the entire process. Colossal says it is eyeing the Nicobar pigeon as a possible surrogate egg-producer for its dodo project. and is considering the emu or tinamou for the moa.
Critics have long questioned why to prioritize resurrecting extinct species when endangered ones are still in trouble. Colossal says its system could be applied to conservation. Skeptics also point to past criticism—like how some scientists argued Colossal’s dire wolves weren’t true dire wolves but genetically modified gray wolves—and Vincent Lynch. an evolutionary biologist with the University at Buffalo. warned that the newest announcement may be misleading. He told the Associated Press. “They might be able to use this technology to help them make a genetically modified bird. but that’s just a genetically modified bird. It’s not an moa.” Lynch added. “That’s not an artificial egg because you’ve poured in all the other parts that make it an egg. It’s an artificial eggshell.”.
On another front. a new analysis of data from the Hubble Space Telescope has scientists questioning earlier claims that Jupiter’s moon Europa is spouting water vapor plumes into space. Researchers had previously suggested the moon’s icy shell cracks could let water from its subsurface ocean escape. and in 2014. a team reported that it appeared to be happening.
But in the new study. members of that same team say the earlier conclusion “just doesn’t hold up the same way anymore.” Dr. Kurt Retherford of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). one of the authors of the 2014 paper. said. “The evidence for water vapor plumes on Europa isn’t as strong as we first understood it.” He explained. “One of the difficulties in interpreting the data back then was determining where to place Europa within its context. ” adding. “The way Hubble works left some uncertainty in terms of placement relative to the center of the image. If Europa’s placement was off even just by a pixel or two, it could affect how the data gets interpreted.”.
For the reanalysis, the researchers looked at Lyman-alpha emissions linked to hydrogen atoms. Dr. Lorenz Roth. from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and the study’s lead author. said: “Our reanalysis took our original 99.9 percent confidence in the plumes’ existence and reduced it to less than 90 percent confidence.” He added. “That’s simply not enough evidence to support the certainty of claims we made at the time.” The researchers say the earlier results may have been shaped by statistical noise.
Even so, the possibility remains. The team says it is still within the realm of possibility that Europa has water vapor plumes. A clearer answer could arrive after NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, launched in 2024 to study the moon. Europa Clipper is expected to reach Jupiter in April 2030 and conduct its first Europa flyby the following year.
What connects these stories is the same pressure point: the boundary between exciting signals and the evidence needed to stand behind them. Smile is heading into Earth’s magnetic environment with instruments designed to reduce that uncertainty from the outside in—measuring how our planet’s shield responds in real time. Elsewhere, older claims are being tested again as new passes through the data tighten confidence. In science, that’s often the uncomfortable moment when certainty has to earn its keep.
MISRYOUM Tech News Smile spacecraft ESA Chinese Academy of Sciences Vega-C French Guiana Earth's magnetic shield solar wind magnetosphere ultraviolet camera X-ray camera northern lights Europa Clipper Hubble Space Telescope Europa water vapor plumes Colossal Biosciences 3D-printed artificial eggshells de-extinction
So it’s basically watching Earth’s invisible shield? Cool.
Wait I thought magnetic shields were like deflecting radiation already. Are they saying we don’t know how it works until now? Also July start like, that’s not long at all.
X-ray camera + ultraviolet camera sounds like they’re trying to find aliens at the north lights lol. 45 minutes at a time doesn’t seem that long though, but maybe the solar wind is the slow part? Not sure why China’s involved either, just curious.
Vega-C rocket from French Guiana… so this is an ESA mission but launched by Europe, and China is “Academy of Sciences” so basically that’s all the same thing right? Like who pays for it and why does it matter if it starts in July. Earth’s “invisible armour” sounds like marketing, but hey if it shows solar wind impacts in X-rays then whatever, I’ll take it.