LIRA

SKAO: the French astrophysics community gathers at the Paris Observatory-PSL

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-06-08T08:10:50Z

From 19 to 21 May 2026, nearly 200 scientists, engineers and radio astronomy enthusiasts gathered at the Paris-PSL Observatory on the Meudon campus for the conference ‘SKA: an observatory for the whole community'. This event marked an important milestone in the French community's preparations for the scientific operation of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), the future largest radio astronomy observatory in the world, resulting from an international coalition bringing together countries from five continents.

Organised at the initiative of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Specialised Commission (CSAA), the conference aimed to bring together all the communities likely to benefit from SKAO data, extending well beyond the field of radio astronomy alone. Discussions focused on the scientific opportunities offered by this next-generation global infrastructure, as well as the technological challenges associated with processing unprecedented volumes of data.

Hosted at the Paris Observatory-PSL, the meeting also brought together several leading international figures from the SKAO. It demonstrates the strong commitment of the French community as the observatory's gradual commissioning approaches, and its determination to play a major role in this scientific venture at the interface of astrophysics, digital technology and high-performance computing.

This conference was co-funded by DIM ORIGINES, with support from the Île-de-France Region.

Group photo taken at the SKA conference

Credit: Sylvain Cnudde & Philippe Zarka

Athena Coustenis Elected Member of Academia Europaea

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-06-03T08:50:28Z

A new international distinction has crowned the outstanding scientific career of Athena Coustenis. A world-renowned planetary scientist and CNRS Director of Research at the Laboratory for Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA), and later at the Laboratory for Instrumentation and Research in Astrophysics (LIRA) of Paris Observatory–PSL, she has now been elected to the Academia Europaea, one of Europe's most prestigious scholarly academies.

Founded in 1988, the Academia Europaea promotes excellence in research and higher education across Europe and beyond. It brings together leading scholars from a wide range of disciplines, including the sciences, technology, medicine, the humanities and social sciences, law, and economics. Athena Coustenis's election represents major recognition of her scientific achievements in planetary science, her international influence, and her long-standing commitment to European scientific cooperation.

A specialist in giant planets and their natural satellites—particularly Titan, Enceladus, and the Saturnian and Jovian systems—Athena Coustenis has played a key role in the scientific exploitation of major international space missions, most notably Cassini-Huygens. Her pioneering work on planetary atmospheres, infrared spectroscopy, exoplanets, and the conditions for habitability has significantly advanced modern planetary science. She has also contributed to the definition and development of several major space missions while actively engaging in planetary protection initiatives.

This election adds to a distinguished career marked by numerous prestigious honors and awards, including the Harold Jeffreys Prize of the Royal Astronomical Society (2006), the Masursky Award of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences (2014), the Jean-Dominique Cassini Medal of the European Geosciences Union (2023), and her appointment as a Knight of the French Legion of Honour in 2019. She now joins several eminent scientists from Paris Observatory–PSL who are already members of the Academia Europaea, including Françoise Combes, Pierre Encrenaz, Thérèse Encrenaz, Pierre Léna, James Lequeux, and Guy Perrin.

Elsa Huby, winner of the 2026 Charles Defforey Foundation–Institut de France Grand Prize for Science

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-05-21T14:26:46Z

In May 2026, the excellence of the research carried out at LESIA and subsequently at LIRA has once again been recognised and honoured with France's highest award across all disciplines: the Charles Defforey Foundation – Institut de France Grand Prize for Science. It literally ‘shines a light' on the research work of Elsa Huby and her team, which led to the first photonic lantern being made available to the community. A look back at this brilliant journey and this long path. And, above all, at the women and men, from our unit and elsewhere, who were the key figures and collaborators in this endeavour.

FIRST: from fibre interferometry to the photonic lantern, or how to push the boundaries of astronomical observation through astrophotonics.

The FIRST (Fibered Imager foR a Single Telescope) project was conceived in the early 2000s as an innovative initiative aimed at pushing the boundaries of telescopes' angular resolution. The principle involves transforming a telescope into an interferometer (a measurement technique that utilises the phenomenon of wave interference) by feeding the light collected by different parts of the telescope into optical fibres, then recombining it in a coherent manner. This technique stabilises the telescope's response whilst filtering out optical aberrations, thereby restoring its fundamental angular resolution, which is limited by diffraction.

Following a phase of theoretical and experimental design, a sky survey demonstration was carried out at the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, in collaboration with the SCExAO (Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme AO) team. Since then, the project has gradually evolved to incorporate new technologies from astrophotonics, in particular to achieve interferometric beam recombination using integrated optics. The challenge of this technology, which remains relevant today, is to produce components that operate across a wide range of wavelengths whilst minimising losses.

The latest major development of the instrument, known as FIRST-PL, is based on the use of a photonic lantern. This special optical fibre breaks down light into its spatial modes, providing high angular resolution whilst significantly improving the instrument's sensitivity. Thanks to this innovation, FIRST-PL has achieved unprecedented precision in measuring very small spatial displacements as a function of wavelength (spectrometric astrometry), opening up new prospects for the study of forming exoplanets.

FIRST thus illustrates a gradual transformation in astronomical instrumentation: over 25 years, the project has evolved from a theoretical concept into an innovative photonic instrument. It is part of an ongoing process of research and innovation, at the interface between fundamental optics, technological developments and astrophysical ambitions. As such, FIRST demonstrates how instrumentation can push the boundaries of observation and open new windows onto the Universe.

Elsa Huby, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory – PSL and a specialist in high-angular-resolution and high-contrast instrumentation.

Image of the optical bench, with the schematic lantern connected to the spectrograph

Path of light from the Subaru telescope, passing through the photonic lantern to reach the spectrograph.

Credit: Vievard et al. 2024

Elsa Huby's research lies at the intersection of physics, optics and astronomical observation, with the aim of detecting and characterising planets orbiting other stars in order to better understand how they form. A graduate of the Institut d'Optique, she completed her PhD on the FIRST project, which employs an interferometric technique based on optical fibres for high-resolution imaging. She then continued her work as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Liège, specialising in coronography and high-contrast methods. In 2017, she joined the Paris Observatory – PSL as an assistant astronomer, where she took charge of the FIRST project. Her work contributes to the development of new approaches in astrophotonics, particularly for beam recombination using integrated optics or via the use of a photonic lantern. Supported by ANR Young Researcher funding (2021–2025), this project has opened up new avenues for the study of forming exoplanets. Her research contributes to the development of next-generation instruments for very large telescopes and future missions dedicated to the detection and characterisation.

Guy Perrin elected as a member of the Academia Europaea

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-05-18T15:47:04Z

Guy Perrin has received yet another international honour in recognition of his outstanding scientific career. Following his election to the French Academy of Sciences in 2022 and several prestigious awards in recent years, the French astrophysicist has now been elected to the Academia Europaea, one of Europe's leading learned societies.

Founded in 1988, the Academia Europaea's mission is to promote excellence in research and higher education at European and international level. It brings together leading researchers from the fields of science, technology, medicine, the humanities and social sciences, as well as law and economics. Guy Perrin's election is a major recognition of his scientific contributions, his international standing and his commitment to European research. This distinction follows a career recently marked by his promotion to the rank of Officer of the National Order of Merit and the award of the CNRS Executive Medal of Honour in 2025. He thus joins several leading scientists from the Paris Observatory-PSL and LIRA who are already members of the Academia Europaea, including Françoise Combes, Athena Coustenis, Pierre Encrenaz, Thérèse Encrenaz, Pierre Léna and James Lequeux.

The Milky Way was shaped by a galactic collision that occurred earlier than expected

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-05-11T09:42:58Z

How did the Milky Way form and develop its current structure? A new study published in the *Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society*, led by an international team of researchers including LIRA, sheds new light on this question. By combining data from the Gaia mission with numerical simulations, the authors show that the discs of galaxies such as the Milky Way begin to rotate much earlier than previously thought, but can be partially, or even completely, destroyed during major galactic collisions. The researchers also refine the dating of our Galaxy's last major merger, involving Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, which they place at around 11 billion years ago — earlier than previous estimates. This period coincides with a phase of intense star cluster formation in the Milky Way.

The formation and evolution of the Milky Way

Figure 1: A simplified scenario of the Milky Way's evolution and its collision with the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus galaxy over the course of cosmic history.

The proto-Milky Way gradually interacted with several dwarf galaxies before undergoing, around 11 billion years ago, a major collision with Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus. This event triggered an intense episode of star formation (a ‘starburst'), named Tainá in the study, as well as significant globular cluster formation. The clusters formed within the Milky Way are shown in green, those brought in by the merging galaxies in pink, and those resulting from the starburst in red. The figure also illustrates the gradual growth of the galactic disc into the present-day Milky Way.

Credits: Matt Orkney, adapted by Pierre Boldrini

The Milky Way's disc is a vast, rotating collection of stars, flattened like a pancake, with spiral arms extending out from the centre. It contains the majority of the Galaxy's stars, including the Sun, and rotates at a speed of over 220 kilometres per second. Astronomers have long sought to determine when this disc formed, that is, the moment when the stars began to rotate around the galactic centre in a coherent manner. This stage marks what scientists call the Galaxy's ‘initial rotation phase'.

In the Universe, a galaxy does not form in isolation: it constantly interacts with the intergalactic medium, which supplies it with matter and energy. Similarly, the Milky Way as we know it today is the result of a long process, spanning several billion years, marked by successive mergers with objects of varying sizes, some of which have left traces that can still be observed today. Indeed, under the influence of tidal forces, galaxies that collide with the Milky Way are gradually torn apart, transferring their stars to our Galaxy (see Figure 1). These stars possess properties — chemical composition, age and motion — that differ from those formed locally. The study of stellar populations found in globular clusters, the galactic halo and the galactic disc thus enables astronomers to reconstruct the Milky Way's turbulent past.

Several decades ago, scientists put forward the hypothesis of a major collision between the nascent Milky Way and a dwarf galaxy known as Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus. Although its mass was only between one-tenth and one-quarter of that of the early Milky Way, it is thought to have played a decisive role in the formation of the Galaxy as we know it today. This hypothesis was confirmed in 2018 thanks to data from the Gaia mission, which revealed a large population of stars with very different orbits and chemical properties. These characteristics can only be explained by a massive merger that occurred around 10 billion years ago, which significantly disrupted their trajectories. Some of these stars now make up the galactic halo. This event is now known as the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE) merger.

Travelling back in time through simulations



Figure 2: Simulation of the evolution of a spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way over 13.5 billion years. At the centre lies a galaxy similar to what the Milky Way may have been like in the past, in constant interaction with smaller galaxies that are gradually merging with it. Around 11 billion years ago, a massive galaxy, approaching from the left, collided with the main galaxy, disrupting its stellar disc and having a lasting impact on its evolution. Dark matter is shown in grey, whilst cosmic gas is coloured. The colours indicate the temperature of the gas: the coldest regions appear blue and the hottest red. Credits: Matt Orkney & Chervin Laporte, MNRAS (2026).

Figure 2: Simulation of the evolution of a spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way over 13.5 billion years.

At the centre lies a galaxy similar to what the Milky Way may have been like in the past, in constant interaction with smaller galaxies that are gradually merging with it. Around 11 billion years ago, a massive galaxy, approaching from the left, collided with the main galaxy, disrupting its stellar disc and having a lasting impact on its evolution. Dark matter is shown in grey, whilst cosmic gas is coloured. The colours indicate the temperature of the gas: the coldest regions appear blue and the hottest red.

Credits: Matt Orkney & Chervin Laporte, MNRAS (2026).

Gaia's observations provide a snapshot of the Milky Way today and offer clues about its past, but they do not allow us to trace the evolution of our Galaxy with precision, given the multitude of possible scenarios. To better understand its history, astronomers use numerical simulations, which reproduce different evolutionary scenarios based on the physical laws governing galaxy formation. In this study, the researchers used the Auriga cosmological simulations, a set of numerical models tracking the formation and evolution of 30 galaxies similar to the Milky Way, from 300,000 years after the Big Bang to the present day, spanning 13.5 billion years (see Figure 2). These simulations reproduce the main physical phenomena at work in galaxies, such as gravity, gas movements, star formation and chemical enrichment, in order to trace their evolution throughout the history of the Universe. The researchers were thus able to test their method for dating major galactic collisions in general terms before applying it to the case of the Milky Way.

The simulations have revealed several groundbreaking findings. Firstly, they show that the initial rotation phase — that is, the moment when the galactic disc begins to rotate — often begins much earlier than previously thought. However, this disc can be partially or completely destroyed during major galactic collisions. Thus, the moment when the Milky Way's disc begins to rotate would not necessarily correspond to its initial formation, but rather to the reconstruction phase following a destructive merger.

The second finding concerns the dating of the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger. Researchers estimate that it likely took place around 11 billion years ago, which is earlier than many previous estimates had suggested. This period also coincides with a phase of intense star cluster formation in the Milky Way, which the researchers have named ‘Tainá' in their paper. Such bursts of star formation are a natural consequence of galactic collisions, which compress the gas and trigger increased activity.

Models of the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger predict that a veritable galactic fireworks display must have followed the impact, stimulating star formation and promoting the formation of globular clusters. This is the first time this link has been established,” explains Chervin F. P. Laporte, a researcher at the CNRS and co-author of the study. “This work highlights the essential link between galactic structure and ancient collisions, two elements that must be understood together to grasp the history of our Galaxy.”

This research highlights the fundamental link between galactic structure and ancient collisions, two phenomena that must be understood together to comprehend the history of our Galaxy, adds Matthew D. A. Orkney, a researcher at ICCUB and IEEC and lead author of the study.

The distant universe as a laboratory for galactic evolution

Figure 3: An illustration of the JWST's ability to observe young galaxies, compared with the Hubble Space Telescope.

New telescopes, such as the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) and ALMA (Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array), enable us to observe the Universe at very great distances, and thus to look far back into the past. They thus offer the opportunity to study a large population of forming galaxies, similar to our own, in order to better understand the evolution of the Milky Way.

Credits: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI).

Although scientists cannot travel back in time to observe the early days of the Milky Way directly, they can nevertheless study the formation of similar galaxies in the distant Universe thanks to observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the ALMA network (see Figure 3). In fact, observing galaxies at great distances is akin to travelling back in time: the light they emit takes billions of years to reach us. Thus, the more distant a galaxy is, the further back in the Universe's history it is observed, and therefore at an earlier stage of its evolution. By comparing these different stages, astronomers can reconstruct and better understand the evolution of a galaxy like our own.

Niklas MOSZCZYNSKI's thesis defence on Thursday 7 May 2026

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-05-04T12:43:22Z

Niklas MOSZCZYNSKI's thesis defence will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026 at 2 pm in the Château Room in Meudon. The thesis will be defended in English, with visual aids in English.

It can be watched live on the LIRA YouTube channel

Thesis title

3D radiative analysis of multi-waveband IR-emission in the archetypal Seyfert 2 AGN NGC1068 using GRAVITY and MATISSE VLTI observations.

Composition of the jury

Chair of the Jury/Examiner: Paola Di Matteo (LIRA)
rapporteurs: Almudena Prieto (IAC, Espagne) & Almudena Alonso-Herroro (CAB, Espagne)
Examinater: Ilse de Looze (Ugent, Belgique)
Thesis supervisors: Yann Clénet (LIRA), Romain Petrov (OCA, Lagrange)

Abstract

This thesis investigates the structure of the dusty environment in active galactic nuclei (AGN), focusing on the archetypal type 2 NGC 1068, by combining infrared interferometry and 3D radiative transfer modelling. The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) has produced spatially resolved images of circumnuclear dust on parsec and sub-parsec scales, directly probing the structure invoked by AGN unification models and the interface between SMBH feeding and feedback. The concept of a static torus has been evolved to a more complex morphology including a clumpy equatorial distribution and a radiation-driven polar dusty wind, a scenario partially triggered by VLTI/MIDI results. Recent VLTI/GRAVITY K-band data for AGN NGC 1068 reveal an inclined, ring-like sublimation rim at the hottest dust radius, while MATISSE mid-IR multi-band observations, when combined with GRAVITY, favor an edge-on equatorial structure with a polar extension. These results highlighted the necessity of a multi-band and three-dimensional interpretation, to break this degeneracy. A parametric geometric model was developed consisting of a clumpy equatorial torus and a dusty polar wind (disk+wind) populated by spherical clouds emitting as blackbodies. The model reproduces K-N band interferometric observables and provides a self-consistent 3D framework that resolves inter-instrument registration. This disk+wind model was extended to and modeled for larger scales with LBTI data, which reveals an morphological link between the dusty wind and a shock-heated bubble, produced by the AGN outflow (primarily the radio jet) and with dense, clumpy circumnuclear material. These larger-scale observations also confirm the existence
of an over-resolved emission component not recovered by VLTI. This study presents the first spatially resolved investigation of the dust distribution in the target AGN using 3D radiative-transfer modelling. The framework permits exploration of varying dust compositions and the impact of AGN. Radiative transfer results reveal broken
temperature power laws, attributable to differential grain sublimation at distinct radii. Overall, the modelling supports the global geometric picture—including an over-resolved component, but shows that no single AGN model reproduces all observables across K-N. Shorter wavelengths (K–M bands) demand a relatively stronger contribution from the dusty polar wind and hot inner dust, while the N band is dominated by cooler, more extended structures. These findings indicate that different spectral bands probe distinct physical regimes that the single simple geometry cannot fully capture. Future work should focus on combining multi-scale observations, improving constraints on dust properties and temperature structures, and extending the model to include larger-scale dust components and their impact on radiative transfer.

Manon Lallement wins the 2025 Olivier Chesneau Prize

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-04-28T15:29:59Z

2025 Olivier Chesneau prize for the best PhD thesis in HRA awarded to Manon Lallement, who completed his PhD at LIRA, and Violetta Gamez Rosas.

Manon Lallement impressed the jury with her double expertise in instrumentation and astrophysical applications using cutting-edge technologies. She made several major contributions to the field of astrophotonics, notably optimizing a high-throughput integrated-optics beam combiner at visible wavelengths and demonstrating it on-sky with the FIRST instrument at the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea. In parallel, she explored the novel Photonics Lantern technology and integrated it into FIRST, providing an effective way to feed its spectrograph. In only three years as a PhD student at LESIA at the Paris Observatory, in collaboration with IPAG at the University of Grenoble and the SUBARU observatory, she has introduced a new observing mode at one of the major optical astronomical observatories worldwide. In addition, using Hα line observations with FIRST, she led a very compelling study of warm ionized gas surrounding a massive star. The jury particularly valued Manon Lallement's ability to lead advanced high-angular-resolution R&D and forefront astrophysical analyses.

The Olivier Chesneau prize is awarded jointly every second year by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA) for outstanding work of young researchers in the field of High Angular Resolution Astrophysics. It commemorates the work of Olivier Chesneau (1974-2014) and his extraordinary contributions both to instrumentation and astrophysics with High Angular Resolution techniques. The jury wishes to highlight the outstanding quality of all candidates this year, which underscores the high scientific potential of this rapidly developing field, across instrumentation and multiple domains of galactic and extragalactic astrophysics.

Defence of Yanbin YANG's HDR on Wednesday 13 May 2026

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-04-22T10:09:38Z

Yanbin YANG will defend his HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches), entitled "Numerical Simulation and Galaxy Modelling", on Wednesday 13 May 2026 at 9.30 am. The defence will take place in the Château Room at the Meudon site of the Paris-PSL Observatory.

It can be watched live on the LIRA YouTube channel

Title of the HDR

Numerical Simulation and Galaxy Modeling.

Composition of the jury

Joshua BARNES, Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Rapporteur
Alain BLANCHARD, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Rapporteur
Annie ROBIN, Université Marie et Louis Pasteur, Rapporteur
Jacques LASKAR, Observatoire de Paris, Président du jury
Rodrigo IBATA, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Examinateur
Gary MAMON, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, Examinateur
François HAMMER, Observatoire de Paris, Examinateur

Abstract

This thesis investigates galactic dynamics through the combined use of multi-scale numerical simulations and comparisons with observational data. The central objective is to clarify the physical processes that govern galaxy formation and evolution across a wide mass range, from massive disk galaxies to faint dwarf systems. The methodological framework relies on the development and application of efficient simulation techniques capable of capturing the coupled effects of gravity, gas dynamics, star formation, and stellar feedback. Several key results are obtained from this work. First, merger simulations within the IMAGES framework show that gas-rich major mergers can drive the formation of disk galaxies and provide a physically grounded explanation for the Hubble sequence. A well-constrained major-merger model reproduces the main structural properties of the Andromeda galaxy, offering a coherent reference for its bulge, bar, disk, stellar streams in the halo. In parallel, simulations and analytical modeling focused on the Milky Way's circumgalactic medium (CGM) show that ram-pressure processes play a central role in shaping nearby dwarf systems. An analytical ram-pressure solver, extended to dissipative dwarf interactions, enables efficient reconstruction of the Magellanic Clouds' orbital history and provides robust initial conditions for hydrodynamical modeling of the Magellanic Stream, supporting a ram-pressure origin rather than tidal stripping. Consistently, simulations of dwarf galaxies indicate that dwarf spheroidals around the Milky Way may originate as gas-rich systems undergoing first infall, with their rapid evolution driven by ram-pressure stripping from the CGM. When combined with N-body and analytical modeling, their kinematics can be explained by the combined effects of tidal forces, gas removal, and turbulence within the hot halo, challenging the traditional view of long-lived, dark-matter-dominated satellites. This picture is further supported by the discovery of young stellar populations and extended low-density stellar halos in classical dwarf spheroidals. Moreover, simulations show that ram-pressure stripping by the intergalactic medium can account for gas loss in dwarf irregular galaxies such as WLM, highlighting the broader importance of environmental processes. Overall, this work demonstrates that detailed dynamical modeling provides a powerful and direct approach to understanding galaxy-scale processes, complementing cosmological simulations. Future efforts will focus on expanding simulation capabilities and building a comprehensive library of galaxy merger models and dwarf galaxy interactions with the CGM and IGM, covering a wide range of masses, orbital parameters, and configurations. The long-term goal is to integrate these tools with artificial intelligence methods to develop a community-oriented, AI-assisted framework for galaxy dynamics.

The French DraMS-GC subsystem for the Dragonfly mission has successfully passed the mechanical and thermal qualification phase

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-04-03T11:26:35Z

NASA's Dragonfly mission, dedicated to exploring Titan and studying its potentially prebiotic chemistry, has reached a crucial milestone with the qualification of the flight models for the DraMS-GC instrument. Developed under the leadership of LATMOS, with a major contribution from LIRA, this state-of-the-art instrument will enable in situ analysis of the molecular composition of Titan's surface by 2034. By combining gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, DraMS-GC will play a key role in identifying complex organic compounds and characterising the conditions necessary for habitability in unique environments such as those of icy moons. This achievement is the result of several years of work by LIRA's engineering and research teams, who were involved in the design, manufacture and qualification of the instrument.

DragonFly: a dragonfly on Titan searching for potential clues to prebiotic chemistry

Figure 1: Exploded view of the Dragonfly drone, showing in red the location of the DraMS instrument, a gas chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer designed to study Titan's complex chemistry.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

The Dragonfly mission is a NASA mission led by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University. Scheduled for launch in 2028 and arrival in 2034, its aim is to study the atmosphere and surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

Following on from the European Huygens lander, which arrived over twenty years ago, Dragonfly is a rotorcraft capable of flying a few hundred metres above Titan's surface. It will thus be able to explore different geological environments, hundreds of kilometres apart, in search of evidence of prebiotic chemistry – that is, chemical interactions between complex organic compounds that may have existed before the emergence of life as we know it on Earth.

During its mission, scheduled to last more than three years, Dragonfly will explore the region from the equatorial dunes to the Selk impact crater, which is around 70 km wide, where liquid water, mixed with organic matter, has likely persisted for hundreds, or even thousands, of years. At these exceptional sites, it will collect surface material samples to analyse their molecular composition using the DraMS (Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer and Gas Chromatograph) instrument. The samples will be vaporised and then analysed in detail using a gas chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer (see Figure 1). These analyses will enable the study of the evolution of the building blocks of prebiotic chemistry across the different types of terrain encountered (ranging from arid dunes to the Selk impact crater, which may have once contained liquid water).

The French contribution at the heart of Dragonfly's instrumentation

Figure 2: The two subsystems of the DraMS-GC instrument, developed in France with the involvement of LIRA, currently undergoing qualification in mechanical and thermal environments.

On the left, the He Supply system mounted on a vibration test bench for mechanical testing. On the right, the Integrated-GC system housed in a chamber simulating the pressure and temperature conditions on Titan.

Credit: LATMOS

France is involved in the Dragonfly mission through the development of DraMS-GC, the gas chromatography component of the DraMS instrument. Funded by CNES, this instrument is being developed under the leadership of LATMOS (Laboratory of Atmospheric Sciences and Space Observations), in collaboration with LIRA. More specifically, LIRA was responsible for the mechanical and thermal design of the instrument, the manufacture of the various models, including the flight models intended for Titan, as well as the conduct of the qualification campaigns.

DraMS-GC consists of two subsystems. The first, called He Supply (see Figure 2.a), transports the vaporised samples in gaseous form using helium, which acts as a neutral carrier gas. These samples are then conveyed to the second subsystem, the Integrated-GC (see Figure 2.b), which is responsible for trapping and then separating the various constituents of the gaseous mixtures obtained after pyrolysis or treatment with a chemical agent. The latter facilitates, in particular, the detection of complex molecules, including chiral molecules, within the chromatography columns. The compounds thus separated can then be analysed by the mass spectrometer, the second part of the DraMS instrument, in order to determine their composition.

Validation in mechanical and thermal environments for DraMS-GC

Figure 3: The LIRA team, involved in the mechanical and thermal design, manufacture and integration of the DraMS-GC instrument.

Credit: LIRA

In collaboration with teams from LATMOS and the Integration and Test Platform at the Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Observatory, and under the supervision of LIRA, the DraMS-GC flight models have just been successfully qualified in mechanical and thermal environments.

This qualification is based on a series of mechanical and thermal tests designed to replicate the conditions to which the instrument will be subjected during its mission. The mechanical tests are carried out using vibration test rigs (see Figure 2.a), in order to simulate the vibrations associated with rocket launch and the operation of Dragonfly. The thermal tests, meanwhile, are conducted in chambers capable of reproducing the pressure and temperature conditions prevailing on Titan, which the instrument will have to withstand during its exploration (see Figure 2.b).

Now that this key milestone has been reached, the next phase involves delivering DraMS-GC to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The He Supply subsystem has already been shipped to the United States. As for the Integrated-GC, having just completed a bakeout phase (a degassing process lasting around ten days at +60 °C) at LIRA, following its scientific testing campaign at LATMOS, it will be delivered to GSFC in April for environmental functional testing.

These developments crown six years of work by LIRA's technical and engineering teams (see Figure 3), notably the GEFL (LIRA's Research and Manufacturing Group), responsible for the design, manufacture and qualification of the instrument, SPIN (Project and Instrumentation Support), responsible for project support and quality activities, and MESPAL (Test Facilities, Clean Rooms, AIT/AIV), involved in bake-out operations as well as IT and administrative support. These are the result of a long and rigorous process, punctuated by numerous reviews validating the various stages of a space instrumentation project.

Contacts:

Napoleon Nguyen Tuong, LIRA Technical Manager at DraMS-GC ;
Sandrine Vinatier, LIRA Scientific Lead at DraMS-GC.

Delivery of the MICADO adaptive optics bench

Raphael PERALTA — 2026-03-21T16:17:39Z

An impressive lifting operation took place on 16 March at the Meudon site, marking a major milestone in the development of MICADO, the future flagship instrument of the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in Chile. Combining a special transport operation, precision crane work and the mobilisation of numerous teams, this extraordinary delivery illustrates the scale of the technical challenges facing the astronomy of the future.

An extraordinary operation in Meudon

Figure 1: Delivery by crane on 16 March 2026 of the crate, weighing over a tonne, containing the adaptive optics bench for MICADO, the first-light instrument for the ESO's (European Southern Observatory) Extremely Large Telescope (ELT).

Credit: Raphaël de Assis Peralta (LIRA - Observatoire de Paris-PSL)

On 16 March, the Communs site in Meudon was the scene of a spectacular logistical operation: the crane-assisted delivery of the MICADO adaptive optics bench (see Figure 1). Having arrived on site that morning via a special heavy-goods convoy, the crate containing the equipment — weighing 1.3 tonnes on its own — required meticulous planning.

Manufactured in Germany by CarbonVision, this carbon-fibre bench, designed by LIRA, boasts impressive dimensions: over 2.5 metres in diameter, nearly 1.5 metres in height and weighing around half a tonne. Added to this is a specialised 750 kg pallet truck. The entire assembly, packed in a custom-made crate measuring 3.8 × 3.3 × 2.5 metres and weighing a total of around 3 tonnes, meets the requirements for future transport to Chile.

On the day, a 60-tonne mobile crane was brought in to lift the container off the lorry, swing it over the Communs buildings, and set it down in the inner courtyard, opposite the UNIDIA reception hall. The operation continued with an even more delicate manoeuvre: using the crane to turn the carriage and bench upright, placing them on rolling supports, moving them to the overhead crane in the integration hall, and finally turning the carriage and bench back to a horizontal position.

This manoeuvre involved numerous teams: scientists and engineers from LIRA and UNIDIA, logistics and safety services from the Paris Observatory-PSL and LIRA, as well as the communications teams from LIRA and the CNRS. ULISSE, the CNRS unit specialising in the transport of scientific instruments, provided its expertise for the design of the crate and the organisation of the transport. GT Logistics handled the transport and coordinated the handling operations, whilst MS Levage carried out the handling itself.

MICADO, the ELT's first-light instrument

Figure 2: The ELT and the MICADO instrument.

On the left, the ELT under construction in Chile. On the right, a view of the MICADO instrument on the ELT's Nasmyth platform.

Credit: ESO/consortium MICADO

MICADO (Multi-Adaptive Optics Imaging Camera for Deep Observations) is the first-light imager for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), a giant 39-metre telescope (see Figure 2) currently under construction in Chile by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Its first scientific observations are scheduled for around 2030.

This state-of-the-art instrument will enable major advances in astrophysics, particularly in the study of the formation of the first galaxies and the detection of exoplanets in the habitable zone of their host stars. To achieve these objectives, MICADO will operate in the near-infrared (0.8–2.4 μm), like the JWST, whilst offering angular resolution up to six times higher at equivalent sensitivity.

To reach the diffraction limit of the ELT and thus fully exploit the potential of the 39-metre telescope, MICADO relies on adaptive optics systems capable of correcting atmospheric disturbances in real time. Among these, the SCAO (Single Conjugate Adaptive Optics) mode, which uses a natural star to analyse atmospheric turbulence, is being developed within the MICADO consortium under the leadership of LIRA, with contributions from several French laboratories.

The MICADO SCAO bench

Figure 3: The MICADO SCAO module's carbon-fibre opto-mechanical bench, installed in the integration room at Les Communs de Meudon, where it will be integrated and tested until 2028.

Credit: MICADO Consortium

The bench delivered to Meudon is designed to support the various opto-mechanical subsystems of MICADO's SCAO: its wavefront analyser, its calibration system and its dichroic mirror, which reflects visible light from the telescope towards the SCAO's wavefront analyser whilst transmitting infrared light to the scientific camera.

This bench is a complex assembly of epoxy carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb. It comprises baffles, a segmented cover, support and stiffening columns, and, most importantly, a multitude of inserts. These are metal parts passing through the bench and serving as fixing points for the various opto-mechanical elements of the SCAO.

The bench's specifications presented a real challenge for CarbonVision: the absolute positioning of the optical elements is guaranteed to within a tenth of a millimetre on the bench's surface, and the flatness of the bench's top and bottom surfaces is 5 hundredths of a millimetre per metre!

The bench will remain in Meudon until 2028, where the teams will carry out the system's integration and testing phases, before it is transferred to Germany for the final assembly of the MICADO instrument. This key stage forms part of a major French contribution to the project, particularly in the areas of adaptive optics and high-contrast imaging dedicated to the study of exoplanets.

Several laboratories are involved in these developments — LIRA, UNIDIA, LMA, LCF, Theta — alongside the technical division and the EFISOFT unit of INSU, demonstrating France's expertise in cutting-edge scientific instrumentation.

Supported by funding from the Île-de-France Region's DIM ORIGINES, the F-CELT project under the Investments for the Future Programme, the CNRS/INSU, the Paris Observatory – PSL and the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the MICADO project is at the heart of the major research infrastructures that will shape 21st-century astronomy.

Contact : Yann Clénet (yann.clenet@obspm.fr)

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