UCL-led exoplanet mission receives £30 million UK investment

Satellite The European Space Agency's exoplanet mission Ariel, whose scientific leadership is provided by UCL, is to receive a £30 million investment from the UK. The funding from the UK Space Agency is part of a new agreement signed by ESA member states to confirm roles for the mission. The UK signature was provided by UK Space Agency's Head of Space Science, Dr Caroline Harper. Due to launch in 2029, Ariel's mission is to understand the links between a planet's chemistry and its environment by characterising the atmospheres of 1,000 known planets outside our solar system. It is the first space mission dedicated to this analysis and will provide a step-change in our understanding of what exoplanets are made of, how they were formed and how they evolve. Scientific data will be released to the scientific community and general public at regular intervals throughout its planned four-year operational phase. Professor Giovanna Tinetti (UCL Physics & Astronomy), principal investigator for the mission, said: "Ariel will be transformational in helping us understand the planets in our galaxy.