Start with the basics: keep the payload to what actually matters, eliminate any extra instrumentation that just adds weight or complexity. Use off‑the‑shelf, battle‑tested parts where you can, and design for redundancy in the critical systems. Run a full end‑to‑end simulation before any real flight, and test each module independently. Keep the schedule tight and stick to it—no surprises. That’s how you shrink risk without cutting science.

The main goal is to pinpoint the chemical fingerprint of an exoplanet’s atmosphere—identify gases that point to habitability or even life. Everything else is support for that.