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ARIEL
The European Space Agency has just officially signed two years of feasibility studies that will hopefully pave the way for the launch of a space telescope to study exoplanets in 2029, the BBC relationships.
The telescope, called ARIEL (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey), is designed to study what exoplanet atmospheres are made of and how they form and evolve, according to a statement. It will examine the visible and infrared wavelengths of approximately 1,000 exoplanets.
Silver bullet
ESA scientists will now move to the construction phase, building several parts to test the design of the space telescope. The biggest challenge will be building a 3.6-foot primary mirror, which will be constructed of aluminum and then coated in silver, as the BBC relationships.
Such a mirror, according to the broadcaster, will have to be able to function even when temperatures drop below -230 degrees Celsius (-382 Fahrenheit).
“This is the first time they have built such a large telescope out of aluminum,” Rachel Drummond, head of the national ARIEL project at RAL Space in the UK, told the team. BBC. “The reason you primarily choose one metal is that it all shrinks together, when it cools, so the whole thing stays in focus, even when it gets smaller.”
It is not ESA’s first telescope mission to study exoplanets. The Cheops telescope was launched last year, designed to study distant planets and learn how they formed.
READ MORE: The UK will lead the mission of the European exoplanets [BBC]
More on exoplanets: If the readings are correct, there is something very strange about this exoplanet
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