Technology preparation for the M4 mission
Three candidate missions for the fourth medium-class (M4) mission in ESA’s Science Programme were selected in 2015 to undergo further assessment:
- ARIEL: the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, a mission for determining the chemical composition and physical conditions of the atmosphere for a set of exoplanets
- THOR: a plasma mission aiming at understanding the physical mechanisms underlying the energy dissipation of turbulent fluctuations in plasma.
- XIPE: an X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer providing a high-sensitivity polarization measurement for a large collection of X-ray sources.
The selection of one of the three candidate missions to enter a Phase B1 mission definition study phase will be made in November 2017. The mission adoption is planned for 2019, with a launch opportunity in 2026.
The M4 candidate missions have been defined to be compliant with a reduced preparation phase and Cost-at-Completion in comparison to standard M-class missions. Therefore, the missions rely heavily on mature technologies, meaning technology preparation activities are limited for the three M4 candidate missions.
| Critical technologies or elements under ESA responsibility for each of the candidate M4 missions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
M4 candidate |
Technology area |
Technology Development Activity |
|
ARIEL |
Payload |
Tip/Tilt mechanism |
|
Ne Joule-Thomson Cryocooler |
||
| EMC pre-verification and simulation | ||
|
THOR |
Environment & Verifications |
|
|
Plasma environment modelling for ASPOC instrument |
||
|
Radiation shielding analysis |
||
|
Star Tracker performance on spinning spacecraft |
||
|
XIPE |
Radiation Environment |
Radiation environment modelling |