Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences takes part in ESA's 'Ariel' Mission

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

To date, the studies carried out have only focused on identifying exoplanets, their masses and their dimensions. The 'Ariel' mission seeks to learn about their appearance or the relationship that can be established between exoplanets and their parent star, as well as how the Solar System fits into the diversity of planetary systems.

The development of models of the planets of 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's mission is also to cooperate in transmitting knowledge about the atmospheres of the Solar System to aid research into the atmospheres of exoplanets.

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