Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems
"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected pla...
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| Format: | Article |
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SPIE
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115191 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-5124 |
| _version_ | 1826208203838324736 |
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| author | Stapelfeldt, Karl R. Dekens, Frank G. Brenner, Michael P. Warfield, Keith R. Belikov, Ruslan Brugarolas, Paul B. Bryden, Geoffrey Chakrabarti, Supriya Dubovitsky, Serge Effinger, Robert T. Hirsch, Brian Kissil, Andrew Krist, John E. Lang, Jared J. Marley, Mark S. McElwain, Michael W. Meadows, Victoria S. Nissen, Joel Oseas, Jeffrey M. Pong, Chris Serabyn, Eugene Sunada, Eric Trauger, John T. Unwin, Stephen C. Cahoy, Kerri |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Stapelfeldt, Karl R. Dekens, Frank G. Brenner, Michael P. Warfield, Keith R. Belikov, Ruslan Brugarolas, Paul B. Bryden, Geoffrey Chakrabarti, Supriya Dubovitsky, Serge Effinger, Robert T. Hirsch, Brian Kissil, Andrew Krist, John E. Lang, Jared J. Marley, Mark S. McElwain, Michael W. Meadows, Victoria S. Nissen, Joel Oseas, Jeffrey M. Pong, Chris Serabyn, Eugene Sunada, Eric Trauger, John T. Unwin, Stephen C. Cahoy, Kerri |
| author_sort | Stapelfeldt, Karl R. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | "Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:01:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/115191 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:01:51Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | SPIE |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1151912022-09-28T17:51:35Z Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems Stapelfeldt, Karl R. Dekens, Frank G. Brenner, Michael P. Warfield, Keith R. Belikov, Ruslan Brugarolas, Paul B. Bryden, Geoffrey Chakrabarti, Supriya Dubovitsky, Serge Effinger, Robert T. Hirsch, Brian Kissil, Andrew Krist, John E. Lang, Jared J. Marley, Mark S. McElwain, Michael W. Meadows, Victoria S. Nissen, Joel Oseas, Jeffrey M. Pong, Chris Serabyn, Eugene Sunada, Eric Trauger, John T. Unwin, Stephen C. Cahoy, Kerri Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Cahoy, Kerri "Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astrophysics Division 2018-05-02T19:04:34Z 2018-05-02T19:04:34Z 2015-08 2018-03-16T12:40:18Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/ConferencePaper http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115191 Stapelfeldt, Karl R., et al. "Exo-C: A Probe-Scale Space Observatory for Direct Imaging and Spectroscopy of Extrasolar Planetary Systems." Proceedings Volume 9605, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VII, 9-13 August, 2015, San Diego, California, edited by Stuart Shaklan, 2015, p. 96050T. © 2015 SPIE. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-5124 http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2191720 Proceedings Volume 9605, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VII Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf SPIE SPIE |
| spellingShingle | Stapelfeldt, Karl R. Dekens, Frank G. Brenner, Michael P. Warfield, Keith R. Belikov, Ruslan Brugarolas, Paul B. Bryden, Geoffrey Chakrabarti, Supriya Dubovitsky, Serge Effinger, Robert T. Hirsch, Brian Kissil, Andrew Krist, John E. Lang, Jared J. Marley, Mark S. McElwain, Michael W. Meadows, Victoria S. Nissen, Joel Oseas, Jeffrey M. Pong, Chris Serabyn, Eugene Sunada, Eric Trauger, John T. Unwin, Stephen C. Cahoy, Kerri Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems |
| title | Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems |
| title_full | Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems |
| title_fullStr | Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems |
| title_short | Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems |
| title_sort | exo c a probe scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115191 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-5124 |
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