A joint European-Chinese satellite just went up on Vega-C, and the images it returns could change how scientists understand Earth’s magnetic shield

A joint European-Chinese satellite designed to image Earth’s magnetic shield in X-rays for the first time reached orbit early Tuesday, opening a new front in space weather science at a moment when solar activity remains elevated and geopolitical cooperation in space has grown thinner. The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, known as Smile, lifted […]