24/06/2026
ESA - European Space Agency has officially adopted ARRAKIHS, its second Fast-class science mission, with launch planned for 2030. The mission will study faint structures around nearby galaxies to better understand how galaxies form and grow over time.
And we are proud to be part of it ! ✨
CSL is responsible for a key part of the instrument: the system that shields it from unwanted light coming from the Sun, the Earth and the Moon. Without it, the extremely faint structures ARRAKIHS aims to observe would be impossible to detect. CSL also develops the mechanism that opens the instrument's protective cover, which has to work reliably from -120 °C to +70 °C.
💬"Our responsibility covers both straylight rejection and the cover-opening mechanism, on which the success of the mission directly depends. The challenge is to guarantee its reliability across a very wide temperature range, building on the experience gained on missions such as COROT and CHEOPS" - Etienne Lallemand - cryogenics and mechanical engineer at CSL
This scientific mission, due to be launched in 2030, aims to gain a better understanding of galaxy formation.
