ARRAKIHS Mission

Fact Sheet

The mission

Science and Instrument

ARRAKIHS Consortium

 

Mock ARRAKIHS observation of a Milky Way-like galaxy including instrumental effects, a realistic cosmological background and a simulated Milky Way-like galaxy in the center.

Name: ARRAKIHS stands for “Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys”. ARRAKIHS is a F-class mission to the European Space Agency (ESA) scientific program.

Mission Topic: Explore the ultra-low surface brightness local Universe to understand the nature of dark matter and to constrain the processes that rule the formation of galaxies (baryonic physics). 

Mission Objective: ARRAKIHS aims to perform observational tests of the Λ-Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) model and break degeneracies with the effects of baryonic physics on galaxy formation, obtaining deep multi-band exposures of ultra-low surface brightness galaxies, and thus enabling detailed and systematic studies of extended galaxy haloes.  

The observations will allow researchers to better understand the discrepancies between ΛCDM predictions and current observations and if these can be solved with a better understanding of the physical processes that govern galaxies formation. 

 

Instrument and spacecraft: The instrument is a 4-channel simultaneous imager in the visible and near-infrared, optimized for low surface brightness observations. The single instrument will be mounted on a small satellite for a combined of 600 kg total wet mass.

Orbit: The ARRAKIHS mission will fly into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) around 800km in a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) configuration between 650 and 800 km of altitude. 

Survey duration: The nominal duration of the scientific operations will be of a total of 3 years. Covering approximately 100 square degrees.  

Launch time: Planned by the end of 2030

Survey

The ARRAKIHS mission is set to span three years and will cover around 100 squared degrees of the sky orbiting Earth on a Sun-synchronous orbit passing over the same location on Earth at the same time of day.

Instrument

The spacecraft is based in two sets of binocular telescopes, consisting of two visible cameras and two infrared cameras. The instrument of ARRAKIHS mission undergoes extensive research to fulfill its scientific objectives.

Science

The ARRAKIHS mission is focused on our understanding of the existing tensions within modern cosmology. The population of faint halo satellite galaxies and streams provide the ideal laboratory to test current dark matter models.