The Ariel mission to study the composition of exoplanets is one of a number of exploratory missions at the ESA

The European Space Agency announced this week that its next science mission will be a space telescope to study the composition of planets around other stars.

The Atmospheric Remote‐sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large‐survey mission (Ariel) was chosen as part of the Cosmic Vision programme to explore themes such as “What are the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life?”

There are thousands of known exoplanets. Ariel will target hundreds of them to analyse their atmospheric composition. For a select number of planets, it may even be able to provide detailed information about cloud systems such as seasonal and daily variations.

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Ariel joins a growing roster of exoplanet missions at ESA. The Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (Cheops) will be ready for launch by the end of this year. It will determine the density of nearby exoplanets to show which are rocky like Earth and which are gaseous like Jupiter.

The Planetary Transits and Oscillations of Stars (Plato) mission will launch in 2026. It will survey nearby stars, looking for Earth-like planets.

Ariel is scheduled to launch in mid-2028 from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. Scientists and engineers will begin its detailed design before an industrial contractor is chosen to build the satellite.



