Photos: courtesy of Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

　　High above our planet, a "cosmic smile" has taken shape. Riding aboard the Vega-C launch vehicle, the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) satellite, jointly developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the European Space Agency (ESA), took off from the space launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, at 11:52 am on Tuesday.

　　As the satellite entered its predesignated orbit and extended its solar panels, the launch of the SMILE - China"s first mission-level, all-around and in-depth cooperation with the ESA in space science exploration -- has been a complete success, marking a new breakthrough in China-Europe aerospace cooperation, the Global Times learned from the CAS.

　　Photos: courtesy of Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

　　The satellite mission will employ a brand-new X-ray imaging technology to achieve, for the first time, panoramic observations of interactions between the solar wind and Earth"s magnetosphere. This capability is expected to play a crucial role in understanding and quantitatively analyzing the global characteristics of the sun-Earth coupled system, Zhang Xiaofeng, a researcher at the Shanghai-based Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and deputy chief designer of the SMILE satellite system, told the Global Times in a recent interview.

　　The SMILE mission explores a model of Chinese-European space science cooperation and sets a precedent for future international collaboration in space science, mission insiders said.