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Planetology and solar system bodies

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) was selected as the M3 mission of the Cosmic Vision program. Lauch is expected in december 2026. Its objective is the characterization of stellar systems and their exoplanets.

The IAS stellar group as well as the exoplanet group  is strongly involved in the ground segment, as well as camera testing and scientific exploitation.

Project Status:
Under development

MMX (Mars Moon eXplorer) est une mission de la JAXA (agence spatiale japonaise), en phase d'étude, pour une approbation par le gouvernement japonais  fin 2018, et un lancement en 2024. Son objectif premier est de caractériser les deux satellites de Mars, Phobos et Deimos, pour en déterminer l'origine, dont deux possibilités extrêmes ont été proposées : capture d'astéroides, ou accrétion en orbite martienne, à partir du matériau éjecté lors d'un impact géant que Mars aurait subi, peu après sa formation, comme ce fut le cas de la Lune de la Terre.

 

Project Status:
Under development

 

Mars is  privileged target in planetary sciences, in particular because of the conservation of ancient grounds (-4.5, -3.7 billion years) on the highlands of the South, while the Earth was living its first moments. This interest has grown in recent years with the discovery of ancient deposits bearing various hydrated phases including phyllosilicates, which are minerals testifying to the presence of liquid water in a stable manner on time scales that could be compatible with the development of life.

The objective of the ExoMars mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) is to characterize this astrobiological potential. This mission includes an orbiter (Trace Gas Orbiter / TGO), launched in 2016 and currently in orbit around Mars, and a rover scheduled for launch in 2022.

Project Status:
Under development

ARIEL is a space telescope that will systematically probe the atmospheres of a thousand extrasolar planets, from gas giants to rocky planets, whether hot or temperate around stars of different types. ARIEL will measure the composition and structure of planetary atmospheres, constrain the nature of planetary cores, detect the presence of clouds and study interactions with the host star. More details.

Contact : M. Ollivier

 

Project Status:
Under development

The main objectives of the JUICE mission will be to perform detailed observations of the giant planet Jupiter and three of its largest moons, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. IAS is in charge of the scientific and technical developement for the visible and infrared imaging spectrometer MAJIS (Moons And Jupiter Imaging Spectrometer) which is part of the JUICE payload. The instrument was delivered in 2021. The mission was launched from Kourou with an Ariane 5 on April 14, 2023 à 14:14:29.

Contacts : François Poulet (PI), Cydalise Dumesnil (project manager)

Project Status:
Cruise phase

In addition to the instrumental developments and the analysis of data from different missions, we seek to enhance the data resulting from our analyzes. It is in this context that an observation service has been set up to be able to archive and merge different types of data concerning the surface of Mars. We invite you to browse the features and data made available on the site:
http://psup.ias.u-psud.fr

This service is recognized as national service by  INSU.

More information.

Contact : François Poulet

 

Project Status:
On-going

The BepiColombo mission was launched on October 19, 2018 for an arrival at Mercury in 2026. This ambitious mission will study all aspects of the closest planet to the sun, from interior to surface to magnetosphere. More details on the launch here.

 

Contacts : Yves Langevin, François Poulet, Mathieu Vincendon

Project Status:
Launched

The Mars2020 / Perseverance rover is the NASA's 2nd large-scale in situ exploration mobile robotic mission. The rover is based on the Curiosity except that the mission will have the ability to encapsulate Martian samples that could be recovered later by another so-called sample return mission. IAS was in charge of the calibration of the near-infrared IRS point spectrometer developed by LESIA and IRAP within the SuperCam instrumental consortium led by Los Alamos (USA). IRS is the first near-infrared spectrometer on the surface of Mars. It is one of Supercam's major iinstruments and allows to constrain the mineralogical composition of rocks and Martian soil. We also actively participated in the selection of the landing site.

 

Contact: François Poulet

 

Project Status:
Exploitation

OSIRIS-REx (for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is a NASA space mission which aims to bring back to Earth at the end of 2023 samples of the carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
The probe was launched in September 2016 and arrived near Bennu in December 2018. Since then, it has been in orbit mapping the entire surface of the asteroid in order to choose the best place to collect samples. The collection at the Nightingale site was a success in autumn 2020.

 

Project Status:
Exploitation

OMEGA is the spectro-imaging instrument of the ESA Mars-Express mission, inserted into Martian orbit the 25th of December 2003. The instrument has observed most of the Martian surface from a polar orbit, over several Martian years. As of 2023, OMEGA still operates on a daily basis, acquiring VIS-NIR (0.35-1.1 µm) reflectance spectra of the surface and atmosphere of Mars, and occasional Phobos during low altitude flybys. Infrared observations (2.5-5.2 µm) of the surface and atmosphere remain possible with OMEGA, they are acquired on-demand for high priority science targets.

 

OMEGA has a new dedicated website with up-to-date information including current projects, detailed instrument description, access to both raw and high level data products: https://www.ias.u-psud.fr/omega/

 

 

Project Status:
Exploitation

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