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Where Next with Space Missions for Exoplanets?

Where Next with Space Missions for Exoplanets? . There Has Been Stunning Progress in Study of Exoplanets It takes 10 to 20 years to launch a space observatory 14 years ago this field didn’t exist where will it be in 20 years with or without space???? A Space Exoplanet Mission Must Have A

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Where Next with Space Missions for Exoplanets?

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  1. Where Next with Space Missions for Exoplanets? • There Has Been Stunning Progress in Study of Exoplanets • It takes 10 to 20 years to launch a space observatory • 14 years ago this field didn’t exist • where will it be in 20 years with or without space???? • A Space Exoplanet Mission Must Have A • Dramatic Leap In Sensitivity and Inner Working Angle • High Quality Spectroscopy • Capability WAAAAAY Beyond What We have Seen So Far • Otherwise the Mission Will Be Rendered Mundane • In Short We Need High Quality Spectroscopy of Earth-twins • And broad capability to study planetary systems in detail • Anything less would be a gamble

  2. NWO Team Membership: Organizations, Roles and Leads • Team consist of 43 active members • 9 organizations are participating • Additional involvement is provided from each organization and includes technical area experts and graduate/undergraduate students • Organizations, Roles and Leads: • Colorado University: PI, Science, Optical Design, and Systems Analysis: Webster Cash • Northrop Grumman: Deputy PI and Starshade Development: Amy Lo • Ball Aerospace Technology Corporation: Telescope Development: Charley Noecker • USNO: Astrometry: Ralph Gaume • NASA GRC: Occulter (Starshade) Propulsion: Scott Benson • KinetX: Mission Design and Navigation: Bobby Williams • GSI: Lead Scientist: Maggie Turnbull • University College of London: Exoplanet Spectra Modeling: Giovanna Tinetti • NASA GSFC: Study Management: Kate Hartman • Space Telescope Science Institute: JWST Interface: Remi Soummer

  3. Stars are very bright and their glare makes it difficult to see fainter objects near them

  4. Starshade prevents starlight from entering the telescope Starshade • The telescope is shaded from the star by the starshade • Besides the vanishingly small residual signal, the starlight does not enter the telescope 100% of the planet light is reaches the telescope

  5. Fly the Telescope into the Shadow

  6. Dropping It In Note: No Outer Working Angle

  7. Extinguishing The Spot of Arago • Occulters Have Very Poor Diffraction Performance • The 1818 Prediction of Fresnel led to the famous episode of: • Spot of Arago (variously Poission’s Spot) • Occulters Often Concentrate Light! • Must satisfy Fresnel Equation, Not Just the Fraunhoffer Equation • Must Create a Zone That Is: • Deep Below 10-10 diffraction • Wide A couple meters minimum • Broad Suppress across at least one octave of spectrum • Must Be Practical • Binary Non-transmitting to avoid scatter • Size Below 150m Diameter • Tolerance Insensitive to microscopic errors

  8. NWO has an Opaque Starshade Transmission Radius • Apodizing Function Apodization Function Offset Hypergaussian function • Opaque Starshade

  9. Performance A 50m diameter occulter at 80,000km can reveal Earths at over 20pc

  10. Target Stars: Exo-zodiacal Light 4m Case From P. Oakley 10m 4m 2.4m 1.5m

  11. Map Planetary Systems • Prime Goal is Exploration of the Solar Neighborhood • NWO will allow us to make maps of over 100 nearby planetary systems from the habitable zone outward • Detect and classify all major planets Uranus Galaxies Zodiacal Light Jupiter Saturn Neptune 10 arcseconds

  12. Four Color Photometry – Molecules!!

  13. Simulated Image of Earthwith starshade and JWST

  14. Planet Finding with StarshadesFive Random Systems from Raymond Database JWST The higher resolution of ATLAST brings weak signals out of the noise ATLAST

  15. Other Exozodi Issues HD 92945 Neutral AU Mic Blue Beta Pic Red Epsilon Eridani • Confusion from dust structure • “Is that a planet or a dust clump?” • Can we tell by its color before wasting time on a spectrum? Greaves et al. (2005) • Maybe … • Solar System zodi has red scattered light color • Known debris disks show red, grey, & blue colors

  16. Target Stars: Exposure Times i = 60˚ From A. Roberge

  17. Where to Look for ExoEarths? NWO blue IWA 40 mas NWO red IWA 65 mas Contrast ~ 10-11 Entire habitable zone : ~ 110 stars Half of habitable zone : ~280 stars

  18. Importance of Inner Working Angle Once you can study all the stars with correctly-sized Habitable Zones, there is no further advantage in being able to study more. New Worlds can do this.

  19. Study Exoplanets H2O O2 • NWO will perform spectroscopy of discovered planets • This will reveal their true natures CH4 NH3

  20. Spectroscopy of Earths ATLAST JWST ATLAST @ High Resolution Fine Structure!

  21. Characterizing Planets: Photometric Variability From P. Oakley

  22. 70% of Time Available for Other Astrophysics The “NWO Deep Field” Galaxy interactions and evolution Stellar evolution The Solar System KBO UB313

  23. NWO Flagship Mission – ASMCS Study Stacked configuration Starshade and telescope deploy Starshade and Telescope on single EELV ~50 m starshade Earth to L2 = 1.5 million km 72,000 km 4 m telescope Simulation from E. Shindhelm, CU

  24. Tall Poles • Deployment of 50m shade to cm class tolerances • Acquiring and holding line of sight • Fuel usage, orbits and number of targets • Stray Light – particularly solar

  25. Starshade Critical Technology Enabling Technologies • Precision Shape Control • Maintain edge position • Maintain structure shape • Thin Edge Treatment • Maintain edge stability • Minimize stray light • Precision Deployment • Minimize jitter • Maintain petal location • Opaque Membrane • Maintain opacity • Lightweight • 2 Axes Formation Flying • Maintain 1m alignment • Minimize jitter • Solar Electric Propulsion • NEXT engine • Increase observable targets • Reduce propellant mass • Lightweight S/C Structures • Increase observable targets • Reduce overall mass Enhancing Technologies

  26. Lab Studies

  27. NGS Starshade with HID source, 1000s integration Chamber door closed wire wire Wire 3.9e-7 wire (Chamber door open) Wire 4.3e-7 wire Total suppression within 200 pixel radius = 8.8e-006

  28. CU/NIST starshade, 200s 200 micron entrance pinhole, iris=10mm, 4/24/09 data Contrast at points where mount wires cross petal edges 1.47e-006 1.53e-006 1.49e-006 Total suppression within 200 pixel radius = 3.0e-006

  29. 6/19/07 Image27- 600sec 5.05e-010

  30. Conclusion H2O O2 By 2025 By 2013 Demonstration Program 2009-2012 Study Earths with JWST 2015 Lifefinder 2022 Planet Imager – 2030?

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