Our Mission

Moreover, the other objectives of the CSES mission include:

• Investigating the structure and dynamics of the topside ionosphere;
• Studying the coupling mechanisms between the lower and higher plasma layers;
• Monitoring temporal variations of the geomagnetic field under both quiet and disturbed solar conditions; 
• Monitoring the fluctuations and the temporal variations  of trapped particles fluxes  as a function of the status of space weather ;
• Exploring solar-terrestrial interactions and phenomena such as Coronal Mass Ejections, solar flares, and cosmic ray solar modulation.

The mission is a joint effort between the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with contributions from various Chinese and Italian research institutes (INFN, INAF and INGV) and universities (Bologna, L’Aquila, Napoli, Rome Tor Vergata, Torino and Trento).

The first mission, CSES-01, was launched on February 2, 2018. The second, CSES-02, is ready to be launched. The CSES constellation will be  able to provide continuous, multi-point accurate monitoring of the Earth ionosphere. Indeed, it will advance our understanding of the LAI coupling both for phenomena originating in the Earth Atmosphere and Lithosphere, possibly related to seismic activity, and for those originating in the Earth magnetosphere directly related to the Sun Activity.