Technological challenges for the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE)

LIFE is a project initiated in 2017 and officially kicked-off in 2019 to develop the science, technology and a roadmap for an ambitious space mission that will allow mankind for the first time to detect and characterize the atmospheres of dozens of warm, terrestrial extrasolar planets. Thanks to NASA's Kepler mission and dedicated, long-term exoplanet searches from the ground, we know that rocky exoplanets are ubiquitous in the Milky Way and very likely also in the immediate Solar neighbourhood. Detecting these nearest planets, understanding the (atmospheric) diversity of other worlds and searching for indications of habitability and biological activity is a cornerstone of 21st century astrophysics and will provide us a new perspective on our place in this Universe. After a brief introduction on the scientific objectives, we present in this talk the recent technology developments required for LIFE and present the main technological challenges to tackle before launching such a mission.