The SMILE spacecraft, a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully launched on a Vega-C rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, at 0352 GMT on Tuesday. This mission aims to explore the effects of solar wind, particularly during intense solar storms, which can disrupt satellites and power grids on Earth. The spacecraft will conduct the first-ever X-ray observations of Earth's magnetic field, providing crucial data on how solar particles interact with the atmosphere. SMILE will operate in an elliptical orbit, reaching altitudes of 5,000 kilometers over the South Pole and 121,000 kilometers over the North Pole, where it can observe the northern lights for 45 hours continuously. This research is vital for improving predictions of space weather events that pose risks to technology and astronauts. The mission is planned to last for three years, with data collection expected to begin just one hour post-launch.