Ariel moves from blueprint to reality

ESA’s exoplanet mission Ariel, scheduled for launch in 2029, has moved from study to implementation phase, following which an industrial contractor will be selected to build the spacecraft.

ESA的系外行星任務(wù)Ariel計劃于2029年發(fā)射，已從研究階段轉(zhuǎn)到實施階段，此后將選擇技術(shù)承包商來制造航天器。

Ariel, the Atmospheric remote-sensing infrared exoplanet large-survey mission, addresses one of the key themes of ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme: What are the conditions for planet formation and the emergence of life? Ariel will study what exoplanets are made of, how they formed and how they evolve, by surveying a diverse sample of around 1000 planetary atmospheres simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths.

? ? ? ? 大氣遙感紅外波段系外行星廣域調(diào)查任務(wù)，Ariel，提出了ESA宇宙視界計劃的關(guān)鍵問題之一：行星形成和生命出現(xiàn)的條件是什么？Ariel將通過對可見光和紅外波長范圍，對大約1000個行星的大氣進行調(diào)查，來研究系外行星的組成，以及它們?nèi)绾涡纬梢约叭绾窝莼?/p>

It is the first mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermal structures of exoplanets, linking them to the host star’s environment. This will fill a significant gap in our knowledge of how the planet’s chemistry is linked to the environment where it formed, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s evolution.

? ? ? ? 這是第一個致力于測量系外行星化學(xué)成分和熱學(xué)結(jié)構(gòu)并將其與宿主恒星環(huán)境聯(lián)系起來的任務(wù)。 這將填補我們對行星化學(xué)與行星形成環(huán)境之間的聯(lián)系，以及宿主恒星的類型是否能夠驅(qū)動行星演化的物理與化學(xué)知識的重大空白。

Observations of these worlds will give insights into the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation, and their subsequent evolution, in the process also helping us to understand how our own Solar System fits into the bigger picture of the overall cosmos.

? ? ? ? 對這些“世界”的觀察將允許我們洞察行星及其大氣形成的早期階段及其后續(xù)演變，在此過程中還將幫助我們了解我們自己的太陽系并推廣到整個宇宙的更大范圍。

Ariel was selected in 2018 as the fourth medium-class science mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision plan. It was ‘a(chǎn)dopted’ by ESA during the Agency’s Science Programme Committee meeting on 12 November, paving the way towards construction.

? ? ? ? Ariel在2018年被選為ESA宇宙視界計劃中的第四次中級科學(xué)任務(wù)。 在11月12日的原子能機構(gòu)科學(xué)計劃委員會會議上，歐空局“采納”了該方案，從而為實施方案鋪平了道路。

Ariel will be ESA’s third dedicated exoplanet mission to launch within a ten-year period, with each mission tackling a unique aspect of exoplanet science. Cheops, the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite,? launched in December 2019, is already producing world-class science. Plato, the PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars mission, will be launched in the 2026 timeframe to find and study extrasolar planetary systems, with a special emphasis on rocky planets around Sun-like stars in the habitable zone – the distance from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet’s surface. Ariel, planned to launch in 2029, will focus on warm and hot planets, ranging from super-Earths to gas giants orbiting close to their parent stars, taking advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres to decipher their bulk composition.??

? ? ? ? ?Ariel將是ESA在十年內(nèi)發(fā)射的第三次專門的系外行星飛行任務(wù)，其中每個任務(wù)都將處理系外行星科學(xué)的獨特方面。? Cheops，系外行星特征衛(wèi)星，于2019年12月發(fā)射，已經(jīng)產(chǎn)生了世界一流的科學(xué)。 PLATO（行星橫越與恒星振蕩衛(wèi)星）任務(wù)將在2026年啟動，以尋找和研究太陽系外行星系統(tǒng)，并特別著重于類太陽恒星周圍位于宜居帶內(nèi)的巖石行星（距恒星距離適宜，水可以存在于行星表面上）。 計劃于2029年發(fā)射的Ariel將專注于溫暖和熾熱的行星，從超級地球到在其母恒星附近運行的氣態(tài)巨行星，利用混合的大氣層來解密其總體組成。

In the coming months, industry will be asked to make bids to supply spacecraft hardware for Ariel. Around summer next year, the prime industrial contractor will be selected to build it.

在接下來的幾個月中，將要求技術(shù)承包商競標(biāo)為Ariel提供航天器硬件。 明年夏天左右，將選擇中標(biāo)的技術(shù)承包商來建造它。

The mission’s payload module, which includes a one metre-class cryogenic telescope and associated science instruments, is provided by the Ariel Mission Consortium. The consortium comprises more than 50 institutes from 17 European countries. NASA also contributes to the payload.

? ? ? ? 該任務(wù)的有效載荷模塊由一個Ariel任務(wù)聯(lián)盟提供，其中包括一米級的低溫望遠(yuǎn)鏡和相關(guān)的科學(xué)儀器。 該聯(lián)盟包括來自17個歐洲國家的50多個研究所。NASA也為有效載荷做出了貢獻。

“After an intensive period working on the preliminary design concepts and on the consolidation of the required technologies to demonstrate the mission feasibility, we are ready to move Ariel forward to the implementation stage,” says ESA’s Ariel study manager Ludovic Puig.

Ariel項目的研究經(jīng)理魯多維奇·普伊格說：“經(jīng)過大量時間研究初步設(shè)計概念和整合必要的技術(shù)以證明任務(wù)可行性，我們準(zhǔn)備將Ariel推進到實施階段?！?/p>

The telescope’s spectrometers will measure the chemical fingerprints of a planet as it crosses in front of – ‘transits’ – its host star, or passes behind it – an ‘occultation’. The measurements will also enable astronomers to observe the dimming of the host star by the planet with a precision of 10–100 parts per million relative to the star.

? ? ? ? 望遠(yuǎn)鏡的光譜儀將測量行星在其恒星前經(jīng)過—發(fā)生掩星時的化學(xué)痕跡。 這些測量還將使天文學(xué)家能夠觀測行星對恒星亮度的影響，相對于恒星亮度精度達為百萬分之10到100的變化。

Ariel will be able to detect signs of well-known ingredients in the planets’ atmospheres such as water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane. It will also detect more exotic metallic compounds to decipher the overall chemical environment of the distant solar system. For a select number of planets, Ariel will also perform a deep survey of their cloud systems and study seasonal and daily atmospheric variations.

? ? ? ? Ariel將能夠探測到行星大氣中眾所周知的成分的跡象，例如水蒸氣，二氧化碳和甲烷。 它還將檢測更多的外來金屬化合物，以破譯遙遠(yuǎn)星系的整體化學(xué)環(huán)境。 對于特定數(shù)量的行星，愛麗兒還將對它們的大氣系統(tǒng)進行深入調(diào)查，并研究季節(jié)性和每日大氣變化。

“With Ariel we will take exoplanet characterisation to the next level by studying these distant worlds both as individuals and, importantly, as populations, in much greater detail than ever before possible,” says ESA’s Ariel study scientist G?ran Pilbratt.

? ? ? ?Ariel項目的研究科學(xué)家戈蘭·皮爾布拉特說：“有了Ariel，我們將通過研究那些遙遠(yuǎn)的世界，研究單個行星，更重要的是研究系外行星整體，這將使對系外行星的特征研究提升到一個新的水平?！?/p>

“Our chemical census of hundreds of solar systems will help us understand each planet in context of the chemical environment and composition of the host star, in turn helping us to better understand our own cosmic neighbourhood,” adds ESA’s Ariel project scientist Theresa Lueftinger.?

? ? ? ? ?Ariel的項目科學(xué)家特蕾莎·路易汀補充說：“我們對數(shù)百個行星系進行的化學(xué)普查將幫助我們詳細(xì)了解行星的化學(xué)環(huán)境與其主星的組成，進而幫助我們更好地了解自己的宇宙鄰居們?！?/p>

“We’re pleased to enter the implementation phase of the Ariel mission,” says ESA’s Ariel project manager Jean-Christophe Salvignol. “We’re moving towards the optimal spacecraft design for answering fundamental questions about our place in the cosmos.”

? ? ? ? ?Ariel的項目經(jīng)理讓·克里斯托夫·薩爾維尼奧爾說：“我們很高興進入Ariel任務(wù)的實施階段。我們正在朝著優(yōu)化航天器設(shè)計的方向不斷努力，以回答有關(guān)我們在宇宙中的位置這個基本問題?！?/p>

Ariel is planned for launch on ESA’s new Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. It will operate from an orbit around the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point, L2, 1.5 million kilometres directly ‘behind’ Earth as viewed from the Sun, on an initial four-year mission. The ESA-led Comet Interceptor mission will share the ride into space.

? ? ? ? Ariel計劃從法屬圭亞那庫魯?shù)臍W洲太空港在歐空局的新“阿里安6”火箭上發(fā)射。 它將進行為期四年的任務(wù)，它將在日地拉格朗日L2點環(huán)繞軌道運行，從太陽看，該點直接位于地球后方150萬公里。 它將與ESA領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的彗星攔截任務(wù)一同發(fā)射。

原文地址：

http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Ariel_moves_from_blueprint_to_reality

2020/11/12

有關(guān)Ariel

https://sci.esa.int/web/ariel/