Organization
Team and responsabilities
The Consortium
Responsabilities
Core Team
The ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium
The ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium (AMC) is the group of scientists and engineers from research institutes and companies representing seven European countries (Spain, Austria, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland) led by Rafael Guzmán from the Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA, Spain). Three more European countries (Portugal, UK and Norway) are currently in the process of joining the AMC. These countries are collectively referred to as the Member States and they are responsible of the Science, Instrument and Science Data Center funding design and operation. The ARRAKIHS Mission Consortuim also includes technological companies from different European countries, led by the Spanish company Satlantis, prime of the instrument, and research institutes from three non-European countries: United States, Thailand and Taiwan.
This consortium is fundamentally organized along three crucial lines of operation: Instrumentation, Science and Ground Segment. The last responsibles of these areas are in order Santiago Serrano (IEEC, Spain), Enrique Gaztañaga (University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom) and Antonio Gutierrez (DEIMOS, Portugal), while the lead of the mission is Rafael Guzmán (IFCA, Spain).
These three core pillars serve as the backbone of the mission’s execution and are integral to its overall success. Within each of these key lines, the consortium further divides its efforts into discrete work packages, each with its own distinct set of objectives. These work packages are meticulously designed to focus on concrete aspects and critical tasks that are essential to the mission’s fulfillment. They serve as the building blocks of the mission’s implementation, ensuring that every facet of the ARRAKIHS mission is systematically addressed and expertly executed. Through this structured approach, the consortium aims to achieve the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in both its scientific and technical pursuits, ultimately contributing to the success of this pioneering mission.
Responsibilities
The ARRAKIHS mission is a collaboration among two different entities the ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium (AMC) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The ARRAKIHS Mission project includes the indispensable role played by ESA. ESA is mainly responsible for the Launch Vehicle, the Spacecraft platform and the Ground Segment, including Ground stations, the Mission Operations Center (MOC) and the Science Operations Center (SOC), with some key contributions to the payload, such as the detector and front-end electronics and the thermal shield.
The AMC, funded by the Member States is mainly responsible for the Science, the Instrument and the Instrument Operation and Science Data Center that will process and analyze the scientific data from the satellite. The consortium is led by Prof. Rafael Guzmán at IFCA (Spain) and supported by the AMC Core team (ACT), which is the top-level decision- making entity of the AMC.
At a lower level of organization, each sector within the ARRAKIHS mission—Science, Instrumentation, and Ground Segment—is divided into three main areas. The first area comprises working groups dedicated to advancing knowledge on various topics relevant to the overall science objectives of the ARRAKIHS mission, with participation limited to ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium (AMC) members. The second area is the Project Office, which is responsible for coordinating efforts and providing the necessary resources to achieve the mission’s goals. The third area is the Joint Working Group, which brings together experts from both the ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium and the European Space Agency (ESA) to work collaboratively on furthering the mission’s objectives.
The Science sector is composed of the ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium Science Team (AMC-ST) and ESA’s ARRAKIHS Science Study Team (ArrakSST). The Science Ground Segment (SGS) sector includes the SGS Project Office, the SGS Study Team, and the ARRAKIHS SGS AMC Team (AMC-SGS). The Instrumentation sector comprises the ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium Instrument Team (AMC-IT) and ESA’s ARRAKIHS System Engineering Working Group (SEWG).
Each sector and its respective components work in a coordinate manner to ensure the successful execution of the ARRAKIHS mission, leveraging the combined expertise of both the ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium and the European Space Agency.
The ARRAKIHS Core Team
The main decision organism in ARRAKIHS is the Core Team, which includes representatives from all member states and is responsible for making key strategic and political decisions related to the mission’s goals and execution. This diverse team ensures a broad range of perspectives and expertise is considered, fostering international collaboration and effective decision-making.
Comprising experts and decision-makers from various nations, the Core Team is tasked with making crucial decisions that chart the course of the mission. These decisions encompass strategic planning, policy formulation, and the establishment of political agreements, all of which are essential for the successful execution of the mission.
By having every member state represented within the Core Team, the ARRAKIHS mission ensures that a broad spectrum of perspectives, expertise, and interests is considered in the decision-making process. This inclusive approach fosters consensus, transparency, and accountability, underpinning the mission’s commitment to achieving its ambitious scientific and exploratory goals while strengthening international cooperation in space exploration.