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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2022

Refining the Science and Technology Case for an Astrophysical Imaging Spectrometer on the Interstellar Probe

Résumé

There is a great deal of interest in a mission to directly observe the outer heliosphere and the local interstellar medium. Members of the heliospheric, planetary, and astrophysical community have been engaged in studying the possibilities for the Interstellar Probe (ISP), a concept study for a mission that would launch in the 2030s to escape the solar system as quickly as possible using instruments implementable with existing technologies. Such a mission would not only have a huge impact on our understanding of how our sun's heliosphere couples to the local galactic environment, but also provide an opportunity to answer a wide range of scientific questions touching on topics as diverse as planetary bodies in the distant solar system, the nature of dust disks around our and other stars, and the total light emitted from not just our galaxy but the sum of all sources of emission over cosmic history. Indeed, a suitably designed instrument operating in the distant solar system could help solve some of the most persistent issues in astrophysics, including the nature and sources behind the excess extragalactic background measured at a variety of wavelengths, precisely how our solar system's dust cloud relates to those we observe around other stars, and the nature of the ancient, quiescent objects in the distant solar system. In fact, an imaging spectrometer on ISP could have a much broader science range than just these three topics, and would enable a general-purpose spectral imaging capability on a unique and crucial mission into the unknown. Importantly, these science cases require only a 10 cm-class telescope employing passively cooled, high-heritage detectors. In this presentation, we discuss the science case for an imaging spectrometer on ISP, review a straw-person design and CONOPS for such an instrument, and consider the technology development path towards realizing an implementable multi-purpose instrument.
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Dates et versions

insu-04503153 , version 1 (13-03-2024)

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Michael B. Zemcov, Carey Michael Lisse, Andrew R. Poppe, Charles Beichman, Jamey R. Szalay, et al.. Refining the Science and Technology Case for an Astrophysical Imaging Spectrometer on the Interstellar Probe. AGU Fall Meeting 2022, Dec 2022, Chicago, United States. pp.SH45F-2394. ⟨insu-04503153⟩
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