EChO, the Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, has been one of the five M-class mission candidates competing for the M3 launch slot within the science programme Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 of the European Space Agency (ESA). As such, EChO has been the subject of a Phase 0/A study that involved European Industry, research institutes and universities from ESA member states and that concluded in Exp Astron EChO is a concept for a dedicated mission to measure the chemical composition and structure of hundreds of exoplanet atmospheres using the technique of transit spectroscopy. With simultaneous and uninterrupted spectral coverage from the visible to infrared wavelengths, EChO targets extend from gas giants (Jupiter or Neptune-like) to super-Earths in the very hot to temperate zones of F to M-type host stars, opening up the way to large-scale, comparative planetology that would place our own solar system in the context of other planetary systems in the Milky Way. A review of the performance requirements of the EChO mission was held at ESA at the end of 2013, with the objective of assessing the readiness of the mission to progress to the Phase B1 study phase. No critical issues were identified from a technical perspective, however a number of recommendations were made for future work. Since the mission was not selected for the M3 launch slot, EChO is no longer under study at ESA. In this paper we give an overview of the final mission concept for EChO as of the end of the study, from scientific, technical and operational perspectives.
ARIEL, the Atmospheric Remote sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large survey, is one of the three M-class mission candidates competing for the M4 launch slot within the Cosmic Vision science programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). As such, ARIEL has been the subject of a Phase A study that involved European industry, research institutes and universities from ESA member states. This study is now completed and the M4 down-selection is expected to be concluded in November 2017. ARIEL is a concept for a dedicated mission to measure the chemical composition and structure of hundreds of exoplanet atmospheres using the technique of transit spectroscopy. ARIEL targets extend from gas giants (Jupiter or Neptune-like) to super-Earths in the very hot to warm zones of F to M-type host stars, opening up the way to large-scale, comparative planetology that would place our own Solar System in the context of other planetary systems in the Milky Way. A technical and programmatic review of the ARIEL mission was performed between February and May 2017, with the objective of assessing the readiness of the mission to progress to the Phase B1 study. No critical issues were identified and the mission was deemed technically feasible within the M4 programmatic boundary conditions. In this paper we give an overview of the final mission concept for ARIEL as of the end of the Phase A study, from scientific, technical and operational perspectives.
The Payload Technology Validation Section (Future mission preparation Office) at ESTEC is in charge of specific mission oriented validation activities, for science and robotic exploration missions, aiming at reducing development risks in the implementation phase. These activities take place during the early mission phases or during the implementation itself. In this framework, a test set up to characterize the quantum efficiency of near infrared detectors has been developed.The first detector to be tested will an HAWAII-2RG detector with a 2.5um cut off, it will be used as commissioning device in preparation to the tests of prototypes European detectors developed under ESA funding. The capability to compare on the same setup detectors from different manufacturers will be a unique asset for the future mission preparation office. This publication presents the performances of the quantum efficiency test bench to prepare measurements on the HAWAII-2RG detector. A SOFRADIR Saturn detector has been used as a preliminary test vehicle for the bench. A test set up with a lamp, chopper, monochromator, pinhole and off axis mirrors allows to create a spot of 1mm diameter between 700nm and 2.5um.The shape of the beam has been measured to match the rms voltage read by the Merlin Lock -in amplifier and the amplitude of the incoming signal. The reference detectors have been inter-calibrated with an uncertainty up to 3 %. For the measurement with HAWAII-2RG detector, the existing cryostat [1] has been modified to adapt cold black baffling, a cold filter wheel and a sapphire window. An statistic uncertainty of ±2.6% on the quantum efficiency on the detector under test measurement is expected.
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