Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences participates in ESA's Ariel mission

The Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA), through a team led by Pedro Machado from the IA and the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, will participate in the next mission of the ESA – European Space Agency, the ‘Ariel’ Mission. Starting in 2028, this is the first space mission dedicated to studying the nature and chemistry of the atmospheres of a thousand exoplanets (planets outside the Solar System that are part of other systems).

To date, studies have focused solely on identifying exoplanets, their masses, and their dimensions. The Ariel mission seeks to understand their appearance and the relationship that can be established between exoplanets and their parent stars, as well as how the Solar System fits into the diversity of planetary systems.

The development of models of the planets in the Solar System, carried out so far by IA, has contributed to the creation of a more general model of planetary atmospheres, which will support the scientific objectives of the Ariel Mission. The IA team also has the mission of cooperating in the transmission of knowledge about the atmospheres of the Solar System to assist research into the atmospheres of exoplanets.

Recently, another international team of researchers, including nine researchers from IA, discovered a new planet, K2-229 b, which is similar in size to Earth and has a density and composition identical to Mercury. The discovery of K2-229 b may help us understand how planets like Mercury formed and evolved, as well as some of their peculiarities.