Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies
MSCSis an program within the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding ...
agency of the
United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
for possible projects leading to probable prospective missions.
History
Pre-proposal workshops were held in October 2007. The Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies (ASMCS) awards were made in the spring of 2008.
Exoplanets
Proposals for ''the study of planets external to the Solar System'' include; the evaluation of the most effective means for the
direct studies of exoplanets provided affirmation for the use of starshades. ''Planet Hunter'' Deep search of 65 nearby stars for Earth analogs. Mark Clampin/Goddard Space flight centre - ''Extrasolar planet imaging coronograph''-to produce fundamental physical characteristics of
giant planet
The giant planets constitute a diverse type of planet much larger than Earth. They are usually primarily composed of low-boiling-point materials ( volatiles), rather than rock or other solid matter, but massive solid planets can also exist. T ...
s in other
planetary system
A planetary system is a set of gravitationally bound non-stellar objects in or out of orbit around a star or star system. Generally speaking, systems with one or more planets constitute a planetary system, although such systems may also consis ...
s.
''Detecting Extrasolar Planets by Sharing the Burden''
ACCESS, Actively Corrected Coronagraph Exoplanet System Studies
The actively corrected coronograph for exoplanet system studies. The principal investigator of this project is J.Trauger working at the California
Jet propulsion laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States.
Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA ...
.
PECO, Pupil Mapping Exoplanet Coronograph
Pupil mapping exoplanet
coronograph
A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare – can be resolved. Most coronagraphs are intended to view t ...
is a 1.4 metre optical telescope fitted with a phase-induced amplitude apodization coronagraph, to image and characterize nearby exoplanets and zodiacal dust in stars zones considered to contain planets habitable to possible life. The main investigator is Olivier Guyon from the University of Arizona.
DAViNCI, Dilute Aperture Visible Nulling Coronograph
Dilute
aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
An ...
visible nulling coronograph project is a 1.1 metre telescope array. The lead investigator is Michael Shao.
Additional proposals
*James Adams/National Space Science and Orbiting Centre: ''Orbiting Astronomical Spectrometer in Space''. The goal of the OASIS mission is to identify the site and sites where Galactic cosmic ray originate and are accelerated.
*Roger Brissenden /Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory: ''A concept of the technology required for Generation X'': A Large Area and High resolution X-ray observatory to study the early universe. The gen-x mission is designed to observe the first black-holes and stars at redshift z~10-20.And will trace the evolution through cosmic time of galaxies and there elements using X-ray spectroscopy.
*Jonathan Grindlay/Harvard: ''The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope'' (EXIST). A mission design optimized for the study of high-z GRBs as probes of the early Universe.
*The ''Dark Ages Lunar Interferometer'' (DALI). A Moon-based telescope concept, funded under the Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Study program, intended to observe the highly-redshifted hyperfine (21-cm) transition from neutral hydrogen (H I) in the intergalactic medium at z 30.
See also
*
Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope
The Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor, commonly known as LUVOIR (), is a multi-wavelength space telescope concept being developed by NASA under the leadership of a Science and Technology Definition Team. It is one of four large astro ...
*
Redshift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in f ...
*
NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts
*
DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
Originally known as the Ad ...
References
STSI etrieved 2011-10-30
External links
* https://arxiv.org/abs/0809.4029
stro-ph etrieved 2011-10-30American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #458.08; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.363 etrieved 2011-10-30{concept study supported by AMSCS}
NASA programs