Its launch is planned for 2029. But the construction of the Ariel mission spacecraft is already being prepared in Toulouse, at the premises of Airbus Defense and Space. The European Space Agency has just revealed the first images.
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“This is significant progress” for this mission intended to carefully inspect the atmospheres of a thousand planets in our galaxy orbiting stars other than the Sun. The European Space Agency has just unveiled the first images of the model of the spacecraft of the Ariel mission, currently being assembled in Toulouse, at Airbus Defense and Space.
This is not the ship that will be launched into space in 2029 if everything goes as planned, but a replica. “This model reproduces the mechanical structure of the spacecraft and the mass of its different units for a first series of difficult tests“, explains the European Space Agency in a press release published on October 29, 2024.
Supporting photos, the ESA specifies that this Ariel model, “This assembly mimics the structure of the flight spacecraft, where the scientific instruments constitute the payload while the service module houses the components essential to the operation of the spacecraft, such as propulsion and power and communications systems.“
The space branch of Airbus and the European agency are preparing to experience a decisive step by the end of this year 2024. In fact, it is a question of ensuring the good design of the spacecraft and its resistance during its launch.
The Ariel model is not going to be spared. It will undergo vibration and acoustic test campaigns. “During vibration testing, the model will be gradually shaken at different intensities on a vibrating tablealso called the shaker, explains the European Space Agency. During acoustic tests, it will be placed in a reverberation chamber and “bombarded” with very intense noises.“
In fact, it involves subjecting the replica of the future exploration spacecraft to the mechanical constraints encountered during its launch from Kourou in Guyana. “Once ready, the Ariel module will be launched by an Ariane 6.2 rocket and will travel to the second Lagrangian point from where it will carry out its particularly detailed studies of distant worlds.“
The Ariel mission is part of the European Space Agency’s “Cosmic Vision” plan and was validated in November 2020.With Ariel, it will be possible to do planetary science well beyond our own Solar System“, declared Günther Hasinger, director of science at ESA. The space module will make it possible to examine the atmosphere of a thousand exoplanets, one and a half million kilometers from planet Earth.
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