ARIEL & Comet Interceptor Mission

Launch Service Provider

Arianespace

Vehicle

Ariane 62

Atmospheric Remote sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large survey mission (ARIEL) is an ESA telescope. During a 4-year mission, ARIEL will observe 1000 planets orbiting distant stars and make the first large-scale survey of the chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres. For a select number of exoplanets, ARIEL will also perform a deep survey of their cloud systems and study seasonal and daily atmospheric variations. ARIEL shares the ride with another ESA mission, Comet Interceptor. It consists of three spacecraft which will be positioned at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, where they will wait for a long-period comet or an interstellar object to come by. Once the desired target appears, the spacecraft will separate and perform a flyby of the target, compiling a detailed 3D profile of a comet.