Mission-level performance verification approach for the Euclid space mission

ESA's Dark Energy Mission Euclid will map the 3D matter distribution in our Universe using two Dark Energy probes: Weak Lensing (WL) and Galaxy Clustering (GC). The extreme accuracy required for both probes can only be achieved by observing from space in order to limit all observational biases in the measurements of the tracer galaxies. Weak Lensing requires an extremely high precision measurement of galaxy shapes realised with the Visual Imager (VIS) as well as photometric redshift measurements using near-infrared photometry provided by the Near Infrared Spectrometer Photometer (NISP). Galaxy Clustering requires accurate redshifts (∆z/(z+1)<0.1%) of galaxies to be obtained by the NISP Spectrometer. Performance requirements on spacecraft, telescope assembly, scientific instruments and the ground data-processing have been carefully budgeted to meet the demanding top level science requirements. As part of the mission development, the verification of scientific performances needs mission-level end-to-end analyses in which the Euclid systems are modeled from as-designed to final as-built flight configurations. We present the plan to carry out end-to-end analysis coordinated by the ESA project team with the collaboration of the Euclid Consortium. The plan includes the definition of key performance parameters and their process of verification, the input and output identification and the management of applicable mission configurations in the parameter database

Knowledge Capitalization in a Concurrent Engineering Environment

The present paper gives an insight in the creation of the Knowledge Management (KM) architecture and tool development that was implemented in the Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) at ESTEC, ESA. The paper presents the final results of the Knowledge Capitalization initiative at the CDF and concludes the previous presented paper at the ICA Korea, 2009 (IAC-09.D5.2.12). A tailored KM system for the specific needs of the CE design process is essential to boost the design and concept development process. While an in-depth investigation of the KM awareness within the CE-environment and its participants marked the beginning of the research, the paper furthermore gives information about how the KM tool was adapted by the engineers and experts. The developed KM software tool is divided into four major sections: Capturing, Organization, Distribution and Development of knowledge. Every section has several interface modules that are interacting with each other. In addition to these, the Knowledge Unit (KU) is introduced, where its different contents (e.g. documents, trade-off tables, mass summaries) are stored and linked with so-called metadata. The challenging task to transfer tacit knowledge elements of CE studies, which are usually created during Round-Tables or Splinter-Meetings, requires new approaches in soft- and hardware support. The developed Tacit Information Capture (TIC) module records presentation and discussions during a session and combines different media sources (e.g. PowerPoint file with the oral presentation). Another highlight of the KM system is the Domain Advancement Diagram (DAD) module, which allows to document the design iterations during studies by capturing the decision making process. Furthermore, the implementation of innovations like tag-clouds, search widgets, active linkage and the so-called ‘Amazon-list’ form essential elements within the developed architecture. The described methods, comprised in the overall architecture, require a minimum of time effort and are therefore optimal to improve the already well established Concurrent Engineering process

The Euclid mission design

23 pages, 19 figures, Presented at the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, 6 June 1 July 2016International audienceEuclid is a space-based optical/near-infrared survey mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) to investigate the nature of dark energy, dark matter and gravity by observing the geometry of the Universe and on the formation of structures over cosmological timescales. Euclid will use two probes of the signature of dark matter and energy: Weak gravitational Lensing, which requires the measurement of the shape and photometric redshifts of distant galaxies, and Galaxy Clustering, based on the measurement of the 3-dimensional distribution of galaxies through their spectroscopic redshifts. The mission is scheduled for launch in 2020 and is designed for 6 years of nominal survey operations. The Euclid Spacecraft is composed of a Service Module and a Payload Module. The Service Module comprises all the conventional spacecraft subsystems, the instruments warm electronics units, the sun shield and the solar arrays. In particular the Service Module provides the extremely challenging pointing accuracy required by the scientific objectives. The Payload Module consists of a 1.2 m three-mirror Korsch type telescope and of two instruments, the visible imager and the near-infrared spectro-photometer, both covering a large common field-of-view enabling to survey more than 35% of the entire sky. All sensor data are downlinked using K-band transmission and processed by a dedicated ground segment for science data processing. The Euclid data and catalogues will be made available to the public at the ESA Science Data Centre