TY - GEN ID - discovery10197943 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.3016317 N2 - 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. AV - public Y1 - 2024/08/23/ SN - 0277-786X CY - Bellingham, WA, USA TI - The Ariel mission: a mission of the European Space Agency for the characterization of exoplanets PB - SPIE A1 - Salvignol, Jean-Christophe A1 - Lueftinger, Theresa A1 - Saavedra Criado, Gonzalo A1 - Fahmy, Salma A1 - Desportes de la Fosse, Camille A1 - Rinaldi, Riccardo A1 - Colombo, Cyril A1 - Icardi, Lidia A1 - Knockaert, Robert A1 - Sechi, Gianfranco A1 - Puig, Ludovic A1 - Jollet, Delphine A1 - Svedevall, Anders A1 - Tirolien, Thierry A1 - Fels, Raymond A1 - Fiebrich, Jorge A1 - Périchaud, Marie-Geneviève A1 - Plitzke, Anja A1 - Milligan, David A1 - Mevi, Claudio A1 - Alves de Oliveira, Catarina A1 - Tinetti, Giovanna A1 - Eccleston, Paul A1 - Gabilan, Christophe A1 - Larue, Ludovic A1 - Oubrier, Jacques A1 - Qadir, Ahmad KW - Space operations; Equipment; Interfaces; Exoplanets; Telescopes; Design; Spectroscopy; Infrared spectroscopy; Sensors; Exoplanetary science N1 - This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher?s terms and conditions. ER -