Research News
NARIT Joins ESA's ARRAKIHS Mission to Develop Simulations
for a New Space Telescope Investigating the Nature of Dark Matter
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization), or NARIT, has joined the ARRAKIHS mission (Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys), a next-generation space telescope mission recently approved by the European Space Agency (ESA) as its second Fast-class (F2) science mission. Scheduled for launch in late 2030, ARRAKIHS will investigate how galaxies formed and evolved over cosmic time while testing models of dark matter.
The mission will survey at least 80 Milky Way-like galaxies over three to five years, focusing on faint, very low-surface-brightness structures. These include stellar streams and tidal tails, remnants of past galaxy interactions and mergers that preserve clues to the assembly history of galaxies. Often described as fossil records of galactic evolution, these structures provide astronomers with valuable insights into how galaxies have grown and evolved throughout the history of the Universe. The observations are also expected to improve our understanding of the true nature of dark matter.
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Mock image simulations play a crucial role in preparing for space missions, allowing scientists to predict the type and image quality that future telescopes are expected to collect and to assess their scientific capabilities and technical feasibility before launch. For the ARRAKIHS mission, Dr. Krittapas Chanchaiworawit, Researcher in Cosmology and High-Energy Astrophysics at NARIT, began developing the mission's core simulation software in 2018 and later became the liaison between NARIT and the ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium.
The simulations are carried out using NARIT's high-performance computing system, CHALAWAN, which is one of four major computing systems supporting the mission's simulation activities worldwide. The other facilities involved are the Altamira Supercomputer in Spain, HiPerGator at the University of Florida in the United States, and the high-performance computing system at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.
Several other NARIT researchers are also contributing to the project. Dr. Utane Sawangwit, Acting Manager of the Centre of Information and Technology, manages the CHALAWAN system to support the consortium's computational activities. Mr. Wissarut Jarernsupapon, Research Assistant specializing in software performance optimization, is primarily responsible for conducting the mission simulations using CHALAWAN. Mr. Narenrit Thananusak, a Ph.D. student and Research Assistant, is using the mission-generated simulated data to further research on galaxy evolution.
The ARRAKIHS mission was officially approved by unanimous vote of all 23 ESA Member States during the Science Programme Committee meeting held on 10-11 June 2026 at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias in Tenerife, Spain. The mission is carried out by the ARRAKIHS Mission Consortium (AMC), which brings together more than 250 scientists and engineers from ESA Member States and partner institutions around the world, including Thailand.
This collaboration marks the first time a Thai research institute has joined both the scientific and technical teams of an officially approved ESA mission. It highlights the growing capability of Thai researchers to contribute to major international space projects and reflects Thailand's increasing engagement in global astrophysics research.
Compiled by : Dr. Krittapas Chanchaiworawit and Dr. Matipon Tangmatitham