The GUSTO (Galactic / Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory) mission is a high-altitude balloon mission that carries an infrared telescope to measure fine-structure line emission from the interstellar medium. The mission was developed by NASA's Explorers Program, and was launched in December 2023 from Antarctica. [1] [2]
GUSTO will provide the first complete study of the life cycle of the interstellar medium, the gas and dust from which all stars and planets are formed. [3] [ unreliable source? ] The mission is a Mission of Opportunity (MO) of NASA's Explorer's Program [2] [3] [ unreliable source? ] and is expected to cost about US$40 million. [4] [5] It follows from the experience gained from two precursor or "pathfinder" missions: the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO) launched on 15 January 2012, and STO-2 launched on 8 December 2016. [4] [5] The principal investigator is Christopher Walker at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. [4] [5]
The telescope will be lifted by a superpressure balloon to the stratosphere at an altitude of 36 km (22 mi) above Antarctica, at the edge of space. [6] [7] It will map portions of the Milky Way galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud in three specific regions of the far infrared (FIR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum called the "terahertz lines of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen". [7]
The flight is scheduled to launch in December 2023 [1] from McMurdo, Antarctica, [6] [5] and is expected to stay airborne for 70 to 120 days, depending on weather conditions. [6] [4] GUSTO will be controlled and monitored from several stations around the United States. [5]
The objective of GUSTO is to provide the first complete spectroscopic study of all phases of the stellar life cycle, from the formation of molecular clouds (also called stellar nurseries), through star birth and evolution, to the formation of interstellar gas clouds and the re-initiation of the cycle. [4] This will allow to determine the composition, energetics, and dynamics of the interstellar medium. [3] [ unreliable source? ] It will do so by observing simultaneously in three specific far infrared (FIR) wavelengths. [3] [ unreliable source? ] The researchers state that "this unique and novel combination of data will provide information needed to untangle the complexities of the interstellar medium". [7]
The gondola, avionics and solar panels will be provided by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The University of Arizona in Tucson will provide the telescope with an array of cryogenic terahertz radiation superconducting heterodyne detectors built in a collaborative effort with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Arizona State University, the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Virginia Diodes (VDI), and Ball Aerospace. [4] [5] [7] The detectors will measure the terahertz lines of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, at 158 μm, 63 μm, and 205 μm respectively. [3] [ unreliable source? ]
The gondola and instruments carried by the balloon have an approximate mass of 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) [5] and measures about 6 m wide by 6 m height (20 ft × 20 ft). The telescope has a 90 cm (35 in) mirror, [4] which will direct light to a series of superconducting detectors contained inside a cryostat that will keep them at −269 °C (−452 °F). [5]
Originally proposed for use on a ULDB (UltraLong Duration Balloon) Superpressure balloon, issues with qualification of the balloon, resulted in use of an alternative 39 Million cubic feet volume, zero pressure balloon. The balloon will be provided by NASA's Balloon Program Office.
The flight will make use of a weather phenomenon known as an anticyclone that occurs during the Antarctic summer. The wind vortex will take the balloon on a circular flight trajectory over Antarctica for 55 to 120 days. [6] [4] Recovery might not be possible for GUSTO, as the southern winter progresses the polar vortex will weaken and the balloon will leave Antarctica and drift northward. [5]
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers, and falls in between visible radiation, which ranges from 380 to 750 nanometers, and submillimeter waves.
Far-infrared astronomy is the branch of astronomy and astrophysics that deals with objects visible in far-infrared radiation.
The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have 10 m (33 ft) aperture primary mirrors, and, when completed in 1993 and 1996, they were the largest optical reflecting telescopes in the world. They are currently the third and fourth largest.
The Spitzer Space Telescope, formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), is an infrared space telescope launched in 2003, that was deactivated when operations ended on 30 January 2020. Spitzer was the third space telescope dedicated to infrared astronomy, following IRAS (1983) and ISO (1995–1998). It was the first spacecraft to use an Earth-trailing orbit, later used by the Kepler planet-finder.
Gusto, El Gusto or GUSTO may refer to:
The Herschel Space Observatory was a space observatory built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). It was active from 2009 to 2013, and was the largest infrared telescope ever launched until the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021. Herschel carries a 3.5-metre (11.5 ft) mirror and instruments sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55–672 µm). Herschel was the fourth and final cornerstone mission in the Horizon 2000 programme, following SOHO/Cluster II, XMM-Newton and Rosetta.
The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility is a 3-meter (9.8 ft) telescope optimized for use in infrared astronomy and located at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii. It was first built to support the Voyager missions and is now the US national facility for infrared astronomy, providing continued support to planetary, solar neighborhood, and deep space applications. The IRTF is operated by the University of Hawaii under a cooperative agreement with NASA. According to the IRTF's time allocation rules, at least 50% of the observing time is devoted to planetary science.
An astronomical survey is a general map or image of a region of the sky that lacks a specific observational target. Alternatively, an astronomical survey may comprise a set of images, spectra, or other observations of objects that share a common type or feature. Surveys are often restricted to one band of the electromagnetic spectrum due to instrumental limitations, although multiwavelength surveys can be made by using multiple detectors, each sensitive to a different bandwidth.
A superpressure balloon (SPB) is a style of aerostatic balloon where the volume of the balloon is kept relatively constant in the face of changes in ambient pressure outside the balloon, and the temperature of the contained lifting gas. This allows the balloon to keep a stable altitude for long periods. This is in contrast with much more common variable-volume balloons, which are either only partially filled with lifting gas, or made with more elastic materials. Also referred to as pumpkin or ultra long distance balloons (ULDB) balloons, the sealed balloon envelopes have a pumpkin shape at flight altitude.
Submillimetre astronomy or submillimeter astronomy is the branch of observational astronomy that is conducted at submillimetre wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Astronomers place the submillimetre waveband between the far-infrared and microwave wavebands, typically taken to be between a few hundred micrometres and a millimetre. It is still common in submillimetre astronomy to quote wavelengths in 'microns', the old name for micrometre.
Cosmic dust – also called extraterrestrial dust, space dust, or star dust – is dust that occurs in outer space or has fallen onto Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 μm), such as micrometeoroids. Larger particles are called meteoroids. Cosmic dust can be further distinguished by its astronomical location: intergalactic dust, interstellar dust, interplanetary dust, and circumplanetary dust. There are several methods to obtain space dust measurement.
Frank James Low was a solid state physicist who became a leader in the new field of infrared astronomy, after inventing the gallium doped germanium bolometer in 1961. This detector extended the range of the observable spectrum to much longer wavelengths.
SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) is a national Dutch institute for space research. It develops and uses innovative technology for analysis in space, focusing on astrophysical research, Earth observation, and exoplanetary research. SRON researches new and more sensitive sensors for X-rays, infrared radiation, and visible light.
Cornelis A. "Neil" Gehrels was an American astrophysicist specializing in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. He was Chief of the Astroparticle Physics Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) from 1995 until his death, and was best known for his work developing the field from early balloon instruments to today's space observatories such as the NASA Swift mission, for which he was the principal investigator. He was leading the WFIRST wide-field infrared telescope forward toward a launch in the mid-2020s. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
A balloon-borne telescope is a type of airborne telescope, a sub-orbital astronomical telescope that is suspended below one or more stratospheric balloons, allowing it to be lifted above the lower, dense part of the Earth's atmosphere. This has the advantage of improving the resolution limit of the telescope at a much lower cost than for a space telescope. It also allows observation of frequency bands that are blocked by the atmosphere.
The kinetic inductance detector (KID) — also known as a microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) — is a type of superconducting photon detector first developed by scientists at the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2003. These devices operate at cryogenic temperatures, typically below 1 kelvin. They are being developed for high-sensitivity astronomical detection for frequencies ranging from the far-infrared to X-rays.
Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is a concept study for a far-infrared survey space telescope mission. A preliminary concept in pre-formulation, it was presented to the United States Decadal Survey in 2019 for a possible selection to NASA's large strategic science missions. Origins would provide an array of new tools for studying star formation and the energetics and physical state of the interstellar medium within the Milky Way using infrared radiation and new spectroscopic capabilities.
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