Ariel (Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large Survey) is ESA’s M4 mission of the “Cosmic Vision” program, with launch scheduled for 2029. Its purpose is to conduct a survey of the atmospheres of known exoplanets through transit spectroscopy. Ariel is based on a 1 m class telescope optimized for spectroscopy in the waveband between 1.95 and 7.8 µm, operating at cryogenic temperatures in the range 40–50 K. The Ariel Telescope is an off-axis, unobscured Cassegrain design, with a parabolic recollimating tertiary mirror and a flat folding mirror directing the output beam parallel to the optical bench. The secondary mirror is mounted on a roto-translating stage for adjustments during the mission. The mirrors and supporting structures are all realized in an aerospace-grade aluminum alloy T6061 for ease of manufacturing and thermalization. The low stiffness of the material, however, poses unique challenges to integration and alignment. Care must be therefore employed when designing and planning the assembly and alignment procedures, necessarily performed at room temperature and with gravity, and the optical performance tests at cryogenic temperatures. This paper provides a high-level description of the Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) plan for the Ariel telescope and gives an overview of the analyses and reasoning that led to the specific choices and solutions adopted.
The Atmospheric Remote-sensing InfraRed Large-survey (ARIEL) is a medium-class mission of the European Space Agency whose launch is planned by late 2029 whose aim is to study the composition of exoplanet atmospheres, their formation and evolution. The ARIEL’s target will be a sample of about 1000 planets observed with one or more of the following methods: transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy, at both visible and infrared wavelengths simultaneously. The scientific payload is composed by a reflective telescope having a 1m-class primary mirror, built in solid aluminum, and two focal-plane instruments: 1. FGS (Fine Guidance System), performing photometry in visible light and low resolution spectrometry over three bands (from 0.8 to 1.95 µm) 2. AIRS (ARIEL InfraRed Spectrometer) that will perform infrared spectrometry in two wavelength ranges between 1.95 and 7.8 µm. This paper depicts the status of the TA (Telescope Assembly) electric section whose purpose is to deploy sensors, managed by the Telescope Control Unit, for the precise monitoring of the Telescope’s temperatures and the decontamination system, used to avoid the contamination of the optical surfaces (mirrors in primis).
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