Leveraging advanced simulators to optimize the Ariel space mission preparation

The Ariel space mission, set to launch in 2029, will conduct the first homogenous spectroscopic survey of hundreds of exoplanets in the visible and infrared, as the M4 mission of ESA’s Cosmic Vision. Since before adoption, Ariel has developed advanced simulators able to model the expected performance of the payload and complex astrophysical and instrumental systematics, including pointing jitter, to demonstrate compliance with scientific requirements ahead of launch. ExoSim2 can simulate an end-to-end observation in the time domain, from the astrophysical source to the focal planes of the instruments, producing photometric and spectroscopic timelines of science frames as will be collected by Ariel. The PSFs vs wavelength at each instrument focal plane are calculated using PAOS, an open-source generic physical optics propagation code able to model the propagation of the electromagnetic field through complex optical systems, including off-axis ones.  The early development of these advanced simulators was motivated by the desire to avoid unnecessary complexity in the payload design, thereby minimizing potential risks to the mission. We report on the recent study of Ariel jitter detrending as an example of space mission preparation through the application of simulators.