The Canadian Ariel Science Team:
The Canadian Space Agency announced in 2023 that it was joining Ariel, the European Space Agency's M4 mission. Ariel is scheduled to launch in 2029 to start a 4 year nominal mission during which it will obtain optical/IR photometry and medium-resolution IR spectra of a thousand exoplanets to study their atmospheres. For more information about Ariel, refer to the Red Book or the special Ariel issue of Experimental Astronomy. If your want to learn more about Ariel then participate in the upcoming Ariel Open Conference in Harwell, UK March 17-19, 2026.

Under an agreement with ESA, the CSA will supply cryo-harnesses in exchange for recruiting 12 new Canadian scientists to the Ariel Consortium. Consortium members participate in the target selection and design of experiments for the Ariel mission. The Canadian contingent of the Ariel Consortium is known as the Canadian Ariel Science Team (CAST). The recruitment of the CAST will be staged, growing to 14 scientists by 2027. If you are a researcher based in Canada interested in joining the CAST, please contact the Canadian Co-PI at nicolas.cowan@mcgill.ca.

Current CAST members and their primary interests:
Michael Balogh (2025-): planet formation
Ryan Cloutier (2023-): host stars, RV, target selection
Nicolas Cowan (2018-): target selection, phase curves
Lisa Dang (2023-): phase curves
Viktor Khalack (2024-): variable stars
Michelle Kunimoto (2023-): target selection
Chris Mann (2024-): target selection
Stan Metchev (2025-): transit photometry, brown dwarfs
Hilding Neilson (2025-): limb darkening
Michael Radica (2025-): atmospheric characterization
Locke Spencer (2023-): thermal testing
Diana Valencia (2018-): interior modeling

Former CAST members:
Björn Benneke (2023-2024)
Eve Lee (2023-2024)

CAST Publications (CAST-led papers are bolded):

• The Albedo Problem and Cloud Cover on Hot Jupiters
• On the synergetic use of Ariel and JWST for exoplanet atmospheric science
• Testing the Origin of Hot Jupiters with Atmospheric Surveys
• Maximizing Ariel's Survey Leverage for Population-Level Studies of Exoplanets
• A Comprehensive Analysis of Spitzer 4.5 micron Phase Curves of Hot Jupiters
• A survey of exoplanet phase curves with Ariel
• Constraining Exoplanet Metallicities and Aerosols with the Contribution to ARIEL Spectroscopy of Exoplanets (CASE)
• A Framework for Prioritizing the TESS Planetary Candidates Most Amenable to Atmospheric Characterization