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The Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (Ariel) is thefirst space mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermalstructures of thousands of transiting exoplanets. Ariel was adopted in 2020 asthe M4 mission in ESA "Cosmic Vision" program, with launch expected in 2029.The mission will operate from the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L2. The scientificpayload consists of two instruments: a high resolution spectrometer in thewaveband 1.95-7.8 microns, and a fine guidance system / visible photometer /low resolution near-infrared spectrometer. The instruments are fed a collimatedbeam from an unobscured, off-axis Cassegrain telescope. Instruments andtelescope will operate at a temperature below 50 K. Telescope mirrors andsupporting structures will be realized in aerospace-grade aluminum. Given thelarge aperture of the primary mirror (0.6 m$^2$), it is a choice of materialthat requires careful optical and opto-mechanical design, and technologicaladvances in the three areas of mirror substrate thermal stabilization, opticalsurface polishing and optical coating. This thesis presents the work done bythe author in these areas, as member of the team responsible for designing andmanufacturing the telescope and mirrors, starting with a systematic review ofthe optical and opto-mechanical requirements and design choices of the Arieltelescope, in the context of previous development work and scientific goals andrequirements of the mission. The review then progresses with opto-mechanicaldesign, examining the most important choices in terms of structural and thermaldesign, and with a statistical analysis of the deformations of the opticalsurface of the telescope mirrors and of their alignment in terms of rigid bodymotions. The details of the qualification work on thermal stabilization,polishing and coating are then presented.

Optical and Opto-mechanical Analysis and Design of the Telescope for the Ariel Mission