NASA announced last week that it will contribute to a European Space Agency mission scheduled to launch in 2028. The spacecraft, called ARIEL (for Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey), will be the first space mission dedicated to studying exoplanet atmospheres.
During its primary mission lasting some four years, ARIEL will study the atmospheres of roughly 1,000 exoplanets. NASA’s contribution, an instrument called CASE, will let astronomers tell whether these exoplanets’ skies are cloudy, hazy or clear. The results will help astronomers understand how planets and their atmospheres form and change over time.