Arrakihs mission completes in record time a critical phase in the development of its ‘brain’ to study dark matter
- Arrakihs is the first mission of the European Space Agency’s Science Programme led by Spain, specifically by the Institute of Physics of Cantabria
- The mission is entering a new phase with a view to 2030, when Arrakihs’ cameras will study galaxies similar to the Milky Way, at extremely low surface brightness levels
- The IEEC leads the contribution to the main instrument and also participates in the science and ground segment of the mission with researchers at the Institute of Space Sciences
Caption: Simulation of a stellar stream in the halo of a galaxy to be observed by Arrakihs.
Credits: Arrakihs Consortium.
The European Space Agency (ESA) space mission Arrakihs has passed the Instrument Preliminary Requirements Review (iPRR) in only six months, a key step for the space agency to approve advancing to the next stage aimed at finishing the mission’s payload. This is the brain of Arrakihs, an instrument composed of two visible cameras and two infrared cameras to obtain the deep images of the Universe necessary for the scientific objectives of the mission—knowing the nature of the dark matter that makes up the cosmos.
The Arrakihs consortium, including more than 100 researchers from over 20 research centres and universities from several countries, is led by the Institute of Physics of Cantabria (IFCA), a joint centre of the University of Cantabria (UC) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). This is, therefore, the first time that Spain coordinates an ESA mission, leading it both in its scientific part and in the instrument to be developed. “Arrakihs is a very beautiful mission, focused on a very specific objective, which is to try to demonstrate the nature of dark matter by obtaining very deep images in the halos of galaxies like the Milky Way,” explains Rafael Guzmán, leader of the consortium and research professor at the IFCA.
In turn, the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) plays a leading role in the mission. IEEC researchers at the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) contribute to the three main areas of the mission: science, instrument and ground segment. Currently, the IEEC, the ICE-CSIC and the Spanish company Satlantis lead the main instrument of the Arrakihs payload, coordinating a consortium of European countries.
The remnant of dark matter
The objective of the Arrakihs mission is to explore the Universe to understand the nature of the dark matter that comprises it. “To explain the structure and dynamics of our cosmos, it has been necessary to introduce a type of component that we cannot observe directly, but that gravitationally influences the movement of stars and galaxies,” explains Guzmán. This is dark matter, which, according to the research community, constitutes more than 80% of the matter in the universe, and its effects can be revealed by the characteristics of stellar streams, faint traces of stars left by small galaxies orbiting in the halo of large galaxies like our Milky Way as they are destroyed by gravitational interaction.
Caption: Image of stellar streams observed from ground-based observatories.
Credits: David Martínez-Delgado/Giuseppe Donatiello.
Four high-precision cameras
To analyse these effects, Arrakihs will observe a representative sample of Milky Way-like galaxies in the local universe at very low levels of surface brightness, never achieved at visible and infrared wavelengths, using four high-precision cameras aboard a satellite that will orbit the Earth at around 800 km altitude.
“The successful completion of the iPRR marks a pivotal moment for Arrakihs,” said Santiago Serrano, IEEC researcher and leader of the instrumentation team in the Spanish company Satlantis. “Our team has demonstrated remarkable technical expertise and dedication to advancing the mission at an extraordinary stage. We are excited to move the instrument payload forward to Phase B.”
This review is a crucial step for us, in the words of Stefan Kögl, the Instrument Project Manager, “it means we’re getting ready for the more detailed and expensive phases of development, boosting our chances of making the entire mission a success.” In addition, Patricio Vielva, director of the IFCA, states that the advancement to Phase B is key “to prove the feasibility of critical instrumentation for the mission, and a crucial step toward ESA’s adoption of the mission.”
Next steps towards 2030
The Arrakihs team will now work for two years to achieve the goal of successfully completing Phase B with the approval of the Instrument Preliminary Design Review (iPDR) in the first half of 2026. This will be the last of different steps in the decision for Arrakihs to be adopted as the next fast-class mission in the ESA’s Science Programme (F2), with an estimated launch date of 2030.
This is the next goal for the consortium, led by Spain, with important contributions from Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, United Kingdom and Portugal with additional contributions to science from the Netherlands, Norway, US, Taiwan and Thailand. The Arrakihs consortium also includes companies from the aerospace sector led by the Spanish company Satlantis, and contributions from scientists from various institutions, such as, the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC), the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), the Center for Studies of Physics of the Cosmos of Aragón (CEFCA), the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA), and the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA).
“The origin of Arrakihs is in Spain. It was born as an idea from a group of Spanish astrophysicists; but we were aware that a project of this magnitude could not be carried out without the participation of more groups and more countries. The enthusiasm and involvement of all of us working for Arrakihs in Spain is magnificent, and that makes the coordination and management of these groups easy,” says María Ángeles Gómez-Flechoso (UCM), coordinator of the Spanish nodes and responsible for the Survey Strategy of Arrakihs.
Press release prepared in collaboration with the Institute of Physics of Cantabria and the Institute of Space Sciences.
Contacts
IEEC Communication Office
Castelldefels, Barcelona
E-mail: comunicacio@ieec.cat
Lead Researcher at the IEEC
Castelldefels, Barcelona
Santiago Serrano
Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC)
Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC)
E-mail: serrano@ieec.cat
About the IEEC
The Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC — Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya) promotes and coordinates space research and technology development in Catalonia for the benefit of society. IEEC fosters collaborations both locally and worldwide and is an efficient agent of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer. As a result of more than 25 years of high-quality research, done in collaboration with major international organisations, IEEC ranks among the best international research centres, focusing on areas such as: astrophysics, cosmology, planetary science, and Earth Observation. IEEC’s engineering division develops instrumentation for ground- and space-based projects, and has extensive experience in working with private or public organisations from the aerospace and other innovation sectors.
The IEEC is a non-profit public sector foundation that was established in February 1996. It has a Board of Trustees composed of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). The IEEC is also a CERCA centre.