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Preparing SXI for ESA/CAS SMILE mission
23 July 2018
The international team developing the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) for the ESA/CAS SMILE mission has gathered at MSSL to present and discuss their progress.
Over the last two days the international team developing the Soft X-ray听Imager (SXI) for the ESA/CAS SMILE mission has gathered at MSSL to present and discuss听progress in the design (and in some case prototyping) of the various听subsystems that make up the instrument. SMILE is a new joint mission between the European Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Science planned for launch in the early 2020s. It will provide novel observations of Earth's magnetosphere by examining x-rays that are emitted when the solar wind impacts on Earth's magnetic field and an exosphere of neutral particles that expands out into space.
Some 40 people attended: In听addition to the largest contingent (12 scientists and engineers) from听MSSL, we had visitors from Leicester University (who lead the听instrument) and the Open University in the UK, and from institutes in听Norway, Austria, Spain and the US, with remote contributions from听Switzerland and Hungary. There was also representation by our SMILE听Chinese partners, and by ESA staff who reported on the overall mission听status and provided a careful overseeing of our progress and plans.听
The meeting was very informative and productive meeting, which听has encouraged very fruitful exchanges among the many participants (all听smiling in the photo!).