 Early design of the mirror and focal plane instruments | |
| Names | Origins, OST |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Space telescope |
| Operator | NASA |
| Website | asd |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2035 (proposed) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Sun-EarthL2 |
| Main | |
| Wavelengths | Far infrared |
Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is a concept study for a far-infrared survey space telescope mission.[1] A preliminary concept in pre-formulation, it was presented to theUnited StatesDecadal Survey in 2019 for a possible selection to NASA'slarge strategic science missions.Origins would provide an array of new tools for studyingstar formation and the energetics and physical state of theinterstellar medium within theMilky Way usinginfrared radiation and newspectroscopic capabilities.[2]
Study groups, primarily composed of international community members, prioritized the science identification and science drivers of the mission architecture.[3][4] The study groups drew upon input from the international astronomical community; such a large mission will need international participation and support to make it a reality.[5]
In 2016, NASA began considering four differentspace telescopes for theLarge strategic science missions;[6] they are theHabitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx),Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR), Origins Space Telescope (Origins), andLynx X-ray Observatory. In 2019, the four teams turned in their final reports to theNational Academy of Sciences, whose independentAstronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey report advisesNASA on which mission should take top priority. If funded,Origins would launch in approximately 2035.[6]
The Roadmap envisaged a mid- to far-infrared space telescope (contrasting with the near- to mid-infraredJames Webb Space Telescope) with a large gain in sensitivity over theHerschel Space Observatory (a previous far-infrared telescope), and betterangular resolution with at least a four-order of magnitude sensitivity improvement over Herschel.[3] The mission development relies on the identification of primary science drivers to establish the technical requirements for the observatory. The workgroups have identified these baseline science topics:
Early and preliminary goals for the Origins Space Telescope mission include the study of water transport as both ice and gas from theinterstellar medium to the inner regions of planet-forming disks, frominterstellar clouds, toprotoplanetary disks, to Earth itself—in order to understand the abundance and availability of water forhabitable planets.[8] In theSolar System, it will chart the role ofcomets in delivering water to the early Earth by tracing their molecular heredity ofdeuterium/hydrogen ratio.[8]
The Origins Space Telescope would performastrometry andastrophysics in the mid- tofar-infrared range using a telescope with anaperture of 9.1 m (concept 1) or 5.9 m (concept 2).[8][9] The telescope will require cryocooler systems to actively cool detectors at ~50mK and the telescope optics at ~4K.[8] It will attain sensitivities 100–1000 times greater than any previous far-infrared telescope.[8]
Targeting exoplanet observations in the 3.3–25 μm wavelength range, it will measure the temperatures and search for basic chemical ingredients for life in the atmospheres of small, warm planets athabitable temperatures (~300 K (27 °C)) and measure their atmospheric composition. This may be accomplished by a combination oftransit spectroscopy and directcoronagraphic imaging. Important atmospheric diagnostics include spectral bands ofammonia (NH
4, a unique tracer of nitrogen), the 9 μm ozone line (ozone,O
3 is a keybiosignature), the 15 μmCO
2 band (carbon dioxide is an importantgreenhouse gas), and many water wavelength bands.[8]
Itsspectrographs will enable 3D surveys of the sky that will discover and characterize the most distant galaxies, Milky-Way, exoplanets, and the outer reaches of the Solar System.[9]
Based on the final report,[10] three instruments are required, plus a fourth optional upscope:[8][1]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Operating |
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