Mr. Nicolas Larue Profile

Nicolas Larue

at Airbus Defence and Space

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Publications (1)

Proceedings Article | 23 August 2024 Presentation + Paper

The Ariel mission: a mission of the European Space Agency for the characterization of exoplanets

Jean-Christophe Salvignol, Theresa Lüftinger, Gonzalo Saavedra Criado, Salma Fahmy, Camille Desportes de la Fosse, Riccardo Rinaldi, Cyril Colombo, Lidia Icardi, Robert Knockaert, Gianfranco Sechi, Ludovic Puig, Delphine Jollet, Anders Svedevall, Thierry Tirolien, Raymond Fels, Jorge Fiebrich, Marie-Geneviève Perichaud, Anja Plitzke, David Milligan, Claudio Mevi, Catarina Alves de Oliveira, Giovanna Tinetti, Paul Eccleston, Christophe Gabilan, Ludovic Larue, Jacques Oubrier, Ahmad Qadir

Proceedings Volume 13092, 130921A (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3016317

KEYWORDS: Exoplanetary science, Space operations, Equipment, Interfaces, Exoplanets, Telescopes, Spectroscopy, Design, Sensors, Infrared spectroscopy

Read Abstract +

Ariel, part of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cosmic Vision science program, is an innovative medium-class mission designed for atmospheric remote sensing of exoplanets. It is the first mission solely dedicated to investigating the atmospheres of more than 500 transiting exoplanets, ranging from gas giants to super-Earths, using a combination of transit photometry and spectroscopy. The mission's primary goal is to analyze these exoplanets' chemical composition and thermal structures, paving the way for large-scale, comparative planetology. Ariel is scheduled for launch in 2029 aboard Ariane 6.2. It will operate from an orbit around the Sun-Earth system's second Lagrange point. The mission has a nominal lifetime of four years, with the potential for a two-year extension. The spacecraft comprises two main modules: the Service Module (SVM) and the Payload Module (PLM). The SVM manages platform elements, including attitude control, power, data handling, and communication systems. The PLM incorporates an all-aluminium cryogenic telescope with two scientific instruments, the Ariel IR Spectrometer (AIRS) and the Fine Guidance System (FGS). The Operational Ground Segment consists of ground stations and the Mission Operation Centre (MOC) located at ESOC, responsible for the operations of the spacecraft and instruments. The Science Ground Segment (SGS) consists of the Science Operation Centre (SOC), located at ESAC, along with the Instrument Operations and Science Data Centre (IOSDC) provided by the Ariel Mission Consortium (AMC). The SGS will perform the science mission planning as well as processing of the data to generate the mission data products and provision of the Ariel mission archive for the user community. While ESA holds overall responsibility for Ariel, the Ariel Mission Consortium is responsible for the procurement of the payload units, as well as managing the IOSDC. This collaborative effort aims to unlock the mysteries of exoplanetary atmospheres and deepen our understanding of these distant worlds.

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