Search

New development approaches, including launch vehicles and advances in sensors, computing, and software, have lowered the cost of entry into space, and have enabled a revolution in low-cost, high-risk Small Satellite (SmallSat) missions. To bring about a similar transformation in larger space telescopes, it is necessary to reconsider the full paradigm of space observatories. Here we will review the history of space telescope development and cost drivers, and describe an example conceptual design for a low cost 6.5 m optical telescope to enable new science when operated in space at room temperature. It uses a monolithic primary mirror of borosilicate glass, drawing on lessons and tools from decades of experience with ground-based observatories and instruments, as well as flagship space missions. It takes advantage, as do large launch vehicles, of increased computing power and space-worthy commercial electronics in low-cost active predictive control systems to maintain stability. We will describe an approach that incorporates science and trade study results that address driving requirements such as integration and testing costs, reliability, spacecraft jitter, and wavefront stability in this new risk-tolerant "LargeSat" context., Comment: Presented at SPIE, Optics+Photonics 2023, Astronomical Optics: Design, Manufacture, and Test of Space and Ground Systems IV in San Diego, CA, USA. Minor typos corrected and DOI added 2023 Oct 19th

From 2018 to 2020, the Scientific Balloon Roadmap Program Analysis Group (Balloon Roadmap PAG) served as an community-based, interdisciplinary forum for soliciting and coordinating community analysis and input in support of the NASA Scientific Balloon Program. The Balloon Roadmap PAG was tasked with articulating and prioritizing the key science drivers and needed capabilities of the Balloon Program for the next decade. Additionally, the Balloon Roadmap PAG was asked to evaluate the potential for achieving science goals and maturing technologies of the Science Mission Directorate, evaluate the Balloon Program goals towards community outreach, and asses commercial balloon launch opportunities. The culmination of this work has been a written report submitted to the NASA Astrophysics Division Director., Comment: 95 pages, 69 figures, prepared by the NASA Balloon Program Analysis Group for the NASA Astrophysics Division Director and the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey

The Coronagraphic Debris Exoplanet Exploring Payload (CDEEP) is a Small-Sat mission concept for high contrast imaging of circumstellar disks. CDEEP is designed to observe disks in scattered light at visible wavelengths at a raw contrast level of 10^-7 per resolution element (10^-8 with post processing). This exceptional sensitivity will allow the imaging of transport dominated debris disks, quantifying the albedo, composition, and morphology of these low-surface brightness disks. CDEEP combines an off-axis telescope, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) deformable mirror, and a vector vortex coronagraph (VVC). This system will require rigorous testing and characterization in a space environment. We report on the CDEEP mission concept, and the status of the vacuum-compatible CDEEP prototype testbed currently under development at the University of Arizona, including design development and the results of simulations to estimate performance., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, Published in proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2020

The Coronagraphic Debris Exoplanet Exploring Payload (CDEEP) is a Small-Sat mission concept for high contrast imaging of circumstellar disks. CDEEP is designed to observe disks in scattered light at visible wavelengths at a raw contrast level of 10^-7 per resolution element (10^-8 with post processing). This exceptional sensitivity will allow the imaging of transport dominated debris disks, quantifying the albedo, composition, and morphology of these low-surface brightness disks. CDEEP combines an off-axis telescope, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) deformable mirror, and a vector vortex coronagraph (VVC). This system will require rigorous testing and characterization in a space environment. We report on the CDEEP mission concept, and the status of the vacuum-compatible CDEEP prototype testbed currently under development at the University of Arizona, including design development and the results of simulations to estimate performance., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, Published in proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2020

© 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). A NASA sounding rocket for high-contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the Planet Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Rocket Experiment (PICTURE) payload, has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. The first flight in 2011 demonstrated a 5 mas fine pointing system in space. The reduced flight data from the second launch, on November 25, 2015, presented herein, demonstrate active sensing of wavefront phase in space. Despite several anomalies in flight, postfacto reduction phase stepping interferometer data provide insight into the wavefront sensing precision and the system stability for a portion of the pupil. These measurements show the actuation of a 32 × 32-actuator microelectromechanical system deformable mirror. The wavefront sensor reached a median precision of 1.4 nm per pixel, with 95% of samples between 0.8 and 12.0 nm per pixel. The median system stability, including telescope and coronagraph wavefront errors other than tip, tilt, and piston, was 3.6 nm per pixel, with 95% of samples between 1.2 and 23.7 nm per pixel.

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Deformable Mirrors (DMs) enable precise wavefront control for optical systems. This technology can be used to meet the extreme wavefront control requirements for high contrast imaging of exoplanets with coronagraph instruments. MEMS DM technology is being demonstrated and developed in preparation for future exoplanet high contrast imaging space telescopes, including theWide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) mission which supported the development of a 2040 actuator MEMS DM. In this paper, we discuss ground testing results and several projects which demonstrate the operation of MEMS DMs in the space environment. The missions include the Planet Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment (PICTURE) sounding rocket (launched 2011), the Planet Imaging Coronagraphic Technology Using a Reconfigurable Experimental Base (PICTURE-B) sounding rocket (launched 2015), the Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment - Coronagraph (PICTURE-C) high altitude balloon (expected launch 2019), the High Contrast Imaging Balloon System (HiCIBaS) high altitude balloon (launched 2018), and the Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission (DeMi) CubeSat mission (expected launch late 2019). We summarize results from the previously flown missions and objectives for the missions that are next on the pad. PICTURE had technical difficulties with the sounding rocket telemetry system. PICTURE-B demonstrated functionality at > 100 km altitude after the payload experienced 12-g RMS (Vehicle Level 2) test and sounding rocket launch loads. The PICTURE-C balloon aims to demonstrate 10-7 contrast using a vector vortex coronagraph, image plane wavefront sensor, and a 952 actuator MEMS DM. The HiClBaS flight experienced a DM cabling issue, but the 37-segment hexagonal piston-tip-tilt DM is operational post-flight. The DeMi mission aims to demonstrate wavefront control to a precision of less than 100 nm RMS in space with a 140 actuato

Wave‐like structures in the upper atmospheric nightglow brightness were observed on the night of 22 August 2017, approximately 8 hr following a total solar eclipse. These wave‐like perturbations are signatures of atmospheric gravity waves and associated traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). Observations were made in the red line (OI 630.0 nm) and the green line (OI 557.7 nm) from Carbondale, IL, at 2–10 UTC on 22 August 2017. Based on wavelet analyses, the dominant time period in both the red and green lines was around 1.5 hr. Differential total electron content data obtained from Global Positioning System total electron content measurements at Carbondale, IL, and ionospheric parameters from digisonde measurements at Idaho National Laboratory and Millstone Hill showed a similar dominant time period. Based on these observations and their correlation with geomagnetic indices, the TIDs appear to be associated with geomagnetic disturbances. In addition, by modeling the ionosphere‐thermosphere system's response to the eclipse, it was seen that while the eclipse enhanced the O/N2 ratio and electron density (Ne) at 250 km during our observation period, it did not affect the TIDs. Vertical (7 m/s) and meridional (616 m/s) phase velocities of the TIDs were estimated using cross‐correlation analysis between red and green line brightness profiles and spectral analysis of the differential total electron content keogram, respectively. This provides a method to characterize the three‐dimensional wave properties of TIDs.

Wave‐like structures in the upper atmospheric nightglow brightness were observed on the night of 22 August 2017, approximately 8 hr following a total solar eclipse. These wave‐like perturbations are signatures of atmospheric gravity waves and associated traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). Observations were made in the red line (OI 630.0 nm) and the green line (OI 557.7 nm) from Carbondale, IL, at 2–10 UTC on 22 August 2017. Based on wavelet analyses, the dominant time period in both the red and green lines was around 1.5 hr. Differential total electron content data obtained from Global Positioning System total electron content measurements at Carbondale, IL, and ionospheric parameters from digisonde measurements at Idaho National Laboratory and Millstone Hill showed a similar dominant time period. Based on these observations and their correlation with geomagnetic indices, the TIDs appear to be associated with geomagnetic disturbances. In addition, by modeling the ionosphere‐thermosphere system's response to the eclipse, it was seen that while the eclipse enhanced the O/N2 ratio and electron density (Ne) at 250 km during our observation period, it did not affect the TIDs. Vertical (7 m/s) and meridional (616 m/s) phase velocities of the TIDs were estimated using cross‐correlation analysis between red and green line brightness profiles and spectral analysis of the differential total electron content keogram, respectively. This provides a method to characterize the three‐dimensional wave properties of TIDs.

A NASA sounding rocket for high-contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the PICTURE payload, has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. The first flight in 2011 demonstrated a 5 milliarcsecond fine pointing system in space. The reduced flight data from the second launch, on 25 November 2015, presented herein, demonstrate active sensing of wavefront phase in space. Despite several anomalies in flight, post-facto reduction phase stepping interferometer data provides insight into the wavefront sensing precision and the system stability for a portion of the pupil. These measurements show the actuation of a 32$\times$32-actuator microelectromechanical system deformable mirror. The wavefront sensor reached a median precision of 1.4 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 0.8 and 12.0 nanometers per pixel. The median system stability, including telescope and coronagraph wavefront errors other than tip, tilt, and piston, was 3.6 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 1.2 and 23.7 nanometers per pixel., Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, JATIS accepted

Project Blue is designed to deliver a small coronagraphic space telescope mission to low-Earth orbit capable of detecting an Earth-like planet in the habitable zones of the Sun-like stars Alpha Centauri A and B within the next 4 years within a Mission of Opportunity budget envelope. The concept heavily leverages emerging commercial capabilities -- including the telescope optics, spacecraft bus and launch vehicle -- and emphasizes a public-private partnership approach., Comment: 5 pages; White paper submitted to the Exoplanet Science Strategy study of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

The PICTURE-C mission will fly a 60 cm off-axis unobscured telescope and two high-contrast coronagraphs in successive high-altitude balloon flights with the goal of directly imaging and spectrally characterizing visible scattered light from exozodiacal dust in the interior 1-10 AU of nearby exoplanetary systems. The first flight in 2017 will use a 10[superscript -4] visible nulling coronagraph (previously flown on the PICTURE sounding rocket) and the second flight in 2019 will use a 10[superscript -7] vector vortex coronagraph. A low-order wavefront corrector (LOWC) will be used in both flights to remove time-varying aberrations from the coronagraph wavefront. The LOWC actuator is a 76-channel high-stroke deformable mirror packaged on top of a tip-tilt stage. This paper will detail the selection of a complementary high-speed, low-order wavefront sensor (LOWFS) for the mission. The relative performance and feasibility of several LOWFS designs will be compared including the Shack-Hartmann, Lyot LOWFS, and the curvature sensor. To test the different sensors, a model of the time-varying wavefront is constructed using measured pointing data and inertial dynamics models to simulate optical alignment perturbations and surface deformation in the balloon environment., United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX15AG23G S01)

Project Blue is designed to deliver a small coronagraphic space telescope mission to low-Earth orbit capable of detecting an Earth-like planet in the habitable zones of the Sun-like stars Alpha Centauri A and B within the next 4 years within a Mission of Opportunity budget envelope. The concept heavily leverages emerging commercial capabilities -- including the telescope optics, spacecraft bus and launch vehicle -- and emphasizes a public-private partnership approach., Comment: 5 pages; White paper submitted to the Exoplanet Science Strategy study of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

A NASA sounding rocket for high-contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the PICTURE payload, has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. The first flight in 2011 demonstrated a 5 milliarcsecond fine pointing system in space. The reduced flight data from the second launch, on 25 November 2015, presented herein, demonstrate active sensing of wavefront phase in space. Despite several anomalies in flight, post-facto reduction phase stepping interferometer data provides insight into the wavefront sensing precision and the system stability for a portion of the pupil. These measurements show the actuation of a 32$\times$32-actuator microelectromechanical system deformable mirror. The wavefront sensor reached a median precision of 1.4 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 0.8 and 12.0 nanometers per pixel. The median system stability, including telescope and coronagraph wavefront errors other than tip, tilt, and piston, was 3.6 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 1.2 and 23.7 nanometers per pixel., Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, JATIS accepted

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015., United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astrophysics Division

We describe a set of numerical approaches to modeling the performance of space flight high-contrast imaging payloads. Mission design for high-contrast imaging requires numerical wavefront error propagation to ensure accurate component specifications. For constructed instruments, wavelength and angle-dependent throughput and contrast models allow detailed simulations of science observations, allowing mission planners to select the most productive science targets. The PICTURE family of missions seek to quantify the optical brightness of scattered light from extrasolar debris disks via several high-contrast imaging techniques: sounding rocket (the Planet Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Rocket Experiment) and balloon flights of a visible nulling coronagraph, as well as a balloon flight of a vector vortex coronagraph (the Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment-Coronagraph, PICTURE-C). The rocket mission employs an on-axis 0.5m Gregorian telescope, while the balloon flights will share an unobstructed off-axis 0.6m Gregorian. This work details the flexible approach to polychromatic, end-to-end physical optics simulations used for both the balloon vector vortex coronagraph and rocket visible nulling coronagraph missions. We show the preliminary PICTURE-C telescope and vector vortex coronagraph design will achieve 10 -8 contrast without post-processing as limited by realistic optics, but not considering polarization or low-order errors. Simulated science observations of the predicted warm ring around Epsilon Eridani illustrate the performance of both missions.

"Exo-C" is NASA's first community study of a modest aperture space telescope designed for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discover previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. At the study conclusion in 2015, NASA will evaluate it for potential development at the end of this decade.

An exoplanet mission based on a high-altitude balloon is a next logical step in humanity’s quest to explore Earthlike planets in Earthlike orbits orbiting Sunlike stars. The mission described here is capable of spectrally imaging debris disks and exozodiacal light around a number of stars spanning a range of infrared excesses, stellar types, and ages. The mission is designed to characterize the background near those stars, to study the disks themselves, and to look for planets in those systems. The background light scattered and emitted from the disk is a key uncertainty in the mission design of any exoplanet direct imaging mission, thus, its characterization is critically important for future imaging of exoplanets., United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grants NNX14AH46G, NNX15AG23G, and NNX13AD50G), University of Massachusetts at Lowell

Emission profiles of the resonantly scattered OII~83.4~nm triplet can in principle be used to estimate \(\mathrm{O}^+\) density profiles in the F2 region of the ionosphere. Given the emission source profile, solution of this inverse problem is possible, but requires significant computation. The traditional Feautrier solution to the radiative transfer problem requires many iterations to converge, making it time-consuming to compute. A Markov chain approach to the problem produces similar results by directly constructing a matrix that maps the source emission rate to an effective emission rate which includes scattering to all orders. The Markov chain approach presented here yields faster results and therefore can be used to perform the \(\mathrm{O}^+\) density retrieval with higher resolution than would otherwise be possible.

A NASA sounding rocket for high contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the Planet Imaging Coronagraphic Technology Using a Reconfigurable Experimental Base (PICTURE-B) payload has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. We present results from the November 2015 launch demonstrating active wavefront sensing in space with a piezoelectric mirror stage and a micromachine deformable mirror along with precision pointing and lightweight optics in space., Comment: Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation

Emission profiles of the resonantly scattered OII~83.4~nm triplet can in principle be used to estimate \(\mathrm{O}^+\) density profiles in the F2 region of the ionosphere. Given the emission source profile, solution of this inverse problem is possible, but requires significant computation. The traditional Feautrier solution to the radiative transfer problem requires many iterations to converge, making it time-consuming to compute. A Markov chain approach to the problem produces similar results by directly constructing a matrix that maps the source emission rate to an effective emission rate which includes scattering to all orders. The Markov chain approach presented here yields faster results and therefore can be used to perform the \(\mathrm{O}^+\) density retrieval with higher resolution than would otherwise be possible.

A NASA sounding rocket for high contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the Planet Imaging Coronagraphic Technology Using a Reconfigurable Experimental Base (PICTURE-B) payload has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. We present results from the November 2015 launch demonstrating active wavefront sensing in space with a piezoelectric mirror stage and a micromachine deformable mirror along with precision pointing and lightweight optics in space., Comment: Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation

The PICTURE-C mission will fly a 60 cm off-axis unobscured telescope and two high-contrast coronagraphs in successive high-altitude balloon flights with the goal of directly imaging and spectrally characterizing visible scattered light from exozodiacal dust in the interior 1-10 AU of nearby exoplanetary systems. The first flight in 2017 will use a 10^(-4) visible nulling coronagraph (previously flown on the PICTURE sounding rocket) and the second flight in 2019 will use a 10^(-7) vector vortex coronagraph. A low-order wavefront corrector (LOWC) will be used in both flights to remove time-varying aberrations from the coronagraph wavefront. The LOWC actuator is a 76-channel high-stroke deformable mirror packaged on top of a tip-tilt stage. This paper will detail the selection of a complementary high-speed, low-order wavefront sensor (LOWFS) for the mission. The relative performance and feasibility of several LOWFS designs will be compared including the Shack-Hartmann, Lyot LOWFS, and the curvature sensor. To test the different sensors, a model of the time-varying wavefront is constructed using measured pointing data and inertial dynamics models to simulate optical alignment perturbations and surface deformation in the balloon environment.

We describe a set of numerical approaches to modeling the performance of space flight high-contrast imaging payloads. Mission design for high-contrast imaging requires numerical wavefront error propagation to ensure accurate component specifications. For constructed instruments, wavelength and angle-dependent throughput and contrast models allow detailed simulations of science observations, allowing mission planners to select the most productive science targets. The PICTURE family of missions seek to quantify the optical brightness of scattered light from extrasolar debris disks via several high-contrast imaging techniques: sounding rocket (the Planet Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Rocket Experiment) and balloon flights of a visible nulling coronagraph, as well as a balloon flight of a vector vortex coronagraph (the Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment - Coronagraph, PICTURE-C). The rocket mission employs an on-axis 0.5m Gregorian telescope, while the balloon flights will share an unobstructed off-axis 0.6m Gregorian. This work details the flexible approach to polychromatic, end-to-end physical optics simulations used for both the balloon vector vortex coronagraph and rocket visible nulling coronagraph missions. We show the preliminary PICTURE-C telescope and vector vortex coronagraph design will achieve 10^(-8) contrast without post-processing as limited by realistic optics, but not considering polarization or low-order errors. Simulated science observations of the predicted warm ring around Epsilon Eridani illustrate the performance of both missions.

The "Ice Giants" Uranus and Neptune are a different class of planet compared to Jupiter and Saturn. Studying these objects is important for furthering our understanding of the formation and evolution of the planets, and unravelling the fundamental physical and chemical processes in the Solar System. The importance of filling these gaps in our knowledge of the Solar System is particularly acute when trying to apply our understanding to the numerous planetary systems that have been discovered around other stars. The Uranus Pathfinder (UP) mission thus represents the quintessential aspects of the objectives of the European planetary community as expressed in ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025. UP was proposed to the European Space Agency's M3 call for medium-class missions in 2010 and proposed to be the first orbiter of an Ice Giant planet. As the most accessible Ice Giant within the M-class mission envelope Uranus was identified as the mission target. Although not selected for this call the UP mission concept provides a baseline framework for the exploration of Uranus with existing low-cost platforms and underlines the need to develop power sources suitable for the outer Solar System. The UP science case is based around exploring the origins, evolution, and processes at work in Ice Giant planetary systems. Three broad themes were identified: (1) Uranus as an Ice Giant, (2) An Ice Giant planetary system, and (3) An asymmetric magnetosphere. Due to the long interplanetary transfer from Earth to Uranus a significant cruise-phase science theme was also developed. The UP mission concept calls for the use of a Mars Express/Rosetta-type platform to launch on a Soyuz-Fregat in 2021 and entering into an eccentric polar orbit around Uranus in the 2036-2037 timeframe. The science payload has a strong heritage in Europe and beyond and requires no significant technology developments.

On 16 December 2001, a variable and structured aurora associated with a period of high solar wind velocity and low solar wind density was recorded through optical, radar, and particle measurements from the ground and space. A comprehensive analysis of this data set is carried out using a coupled auroral electron deposition and ion chemistry model. The observations include H beta, N(2)(+) 1N (0, 2), and O(+) (4)P-(4)D optical and electron density radar measurements from the ground, particle data from NOAA 16 and DMSP F14 satellites, and Doppler-shifted H Lyman alpha images from the IMAGE satellite. Modulations in the energy flux of both protons and electrons are seen in the NOAA 16 data as well as in the optical signatures measured on ground and from above. At the time of closest approach of NOAA 16, the observed emissions and electron density at the peak of an enhancement are well reproduced when precipitating protons and electrons with total fluxes of 0.23 and 3.0 mW m(-2), respectively, and mean energies of 2.50 and 0.25 keV, respectively, are used as input for the model. These values are consistent with those measured by the NOAA satellite. The resulting modeled emissions agree well with the ground measurements of enhanced emissions. The correlation between the emissions from N(2)(+) and O(+) suggests that they are primarily due to electron precipitation. This result is confirmed by the agreement between the measured and modeled emissions and by the values of extinction obtained for all three emissions. The modulations to the E region ionization can be explained by proton precipitation alone, while soft electrons are responsible for the changes to the ionization at higher altitudes., QC 20111103

Zodiac II is a proposed balloon-borne science investigation of debris disks around nearby stars. Debris disks are analogs of the Asteroid Belt (mainly rocky) and Kuiper Belt (mainly icy) in our Solar System. Zodiac II will measure the size, shape, brightness, and color of a statistically significant sample of disks. These measurements will enable us to probe these fundamental questions: what do debris disks tell us about the evolution of planetary systems; how are debris disks produced; how are debris disks shaped by planets; what materials are debris disks made of; how much dust do debris disks make as they grind down; and how long do debris disks live? In addition, Zodiac II will observe hot, young exoplanets as targets of opportunity. The Zodiac II instrument is a 1.1-m diameter SiC telescope and an imaging coronagraph on a gondola carried by a stratospheric balloon. Its data product is a set of images of each targeted debris disk in four broad visiblewavelength bands. Zodiac II will address its science questions by taking high-resolution, multi-wavelength images of the debris disks around tens of nearby stars. Mid-latitude flights are considered: overnight test flights within the United States followed by half-global flights in the Southern Hemisphere. These longer flights are required to fully explore the set of known debris disks accessible only to Zodiac II. On these targets, it will be 100 times more sensitive than the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (HST/ACS); no existing telescope can match the Zodiac II contrast and resolution performance. A second objective of Zodiac II is to use the near-space environment to raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of SiC mirrors, internal coronagraphs, deformable mirrors, and wavefront sensing and control, all potentially needed for a future space-based telescope for high-contrast exoplanet imaging.

Explorers have made breakthroughs in many fields of astrophysics. The science from both these missions contributed to three Nobel Prizes - Giacconi (2002), Mather, and Smoot (2006). Explorers have: marked the definitive beginning of precision cosmology, discovered that short gamma-ray bursts are caused by compact star mergers and have measured metalicity to redshifts z>6. NASA Explorers do cutting-edge science that cannot be done by facility-class instruments. The Explorer program provides a rapid response to changing science and technology, to enable cutting-edge science at moderate cost. Explorers also enable innovation, and engage & train scientists, managers and engineers, adding human capital to NASA and the nation. The astrophysics Explorer launch rate now being achieved is 1 per 3 years, and budget projections are in the $150M/year range for the next five years. A newly Vigorous Explorer Program should be created to: 1. Reach the long-stated goal of annual astrophysics launches; 2. Find additional launch options for Explorers and actively encourage cost savings in launchers and spacecraft, such as new commercial vehicles and innovative partnerships. 3. Mitigate risk via stronger technical development and sub-orbital programs, and through longer, more thorough, Phase A programs, potentially reducing the need for a 30% contingency; 4. Strive to protect the funding for missions that have reached Phase B, to prevent significant launch slips and cancellations, with a goal of 4 to 5 years from Phase B to launch; 5. Review the project management procedures and requirements to seek cost reductions, including the risk management strategy and the review and reporting process; 6. Review and possibly modify the cost caps for all Explorer classes to optimize scientific returns per dollar. [ABRIDGED], Comment: 18 pages, no figures. An Activities/Program White Paper submitted to the Astro2010 NAS/NRC Decadal Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Explorers have made breakthroughs in many fields of astrophysics. The science from both these missions contributed to three Nobel Prizes - Giacconi (2002), Mather, and Smoot (2006). Explorers have: marked the definitive beginning of precision cosmology, discovered that short gamma-ray bursts are caused by compact star mergers and have measured metalicity to redshifts z>6. NASA Explorers do cutting-edge science that cannot be done by facility-class instruments. The Explorer program provides a rapid response to changing science and technology, to enable cutting-edge science at moderate cost. Explorers also enable innovation, and engage & train scientists, managers and engineers, adding human capital to NASA and the nation. The astrophysics Explorer launch rate now being achieved is 1 per 3 years, and budget projections are in the $150M/year range for the next five years. A newly Vigorous Explorer Program should be created to: 1. Reach the long-stated goal of annual astrophysics launches; 2. Find additional launch options for Explorers and actively encourage cost savings in launchers and spacecraft, such as new commercial vehicles and innovative partnerships. 3. Mitigate risk via stronger technical development and sub-orbital programs, and through longer, more thorough, Phase A programs, potentially reducing the need for a 30% contingency; 4. Strive to protect the funding for missions that have reached Phase B, to prevent significant launch slips and cancellations, with a goal of 4 to 5 years from Phase B to launch; 5. Review the project management procedures and requirements to seek cost reductions, including the risk management strategy and the review and reporting process; 6. Review and possibly modify the cost caps for all Explorer classes to optimize scientific returns per dollar. [ABRIDGED], Comment: 18 pages, no figures. An Activities/Program White Paper submitted to the Astro2010 NAS/NRC Decadal Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics

During the period between February 1, 1989 and September 30, 1992, the U.S. Army grant, number-DAAL03-89-K-0057, has funded auroral and airglow analysis of the ECOM-721 Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer Data. Some of the important work that we accomplished with the support of this grant includes transferring the data to a more accessible storage format, creating a quick look archive, further development of a solar EUV flux model which is crucial to the ECOM airglow analyses, development of a spherical radiative transfer model, and the analysis of atomic nitrogen dayglow as well as proton aurora STP78-1 data.

The Army grant, number DAAL03-90-G-0233, has funded the procurement of an erasable optical disk drive and media for the archival of the data taken from the ECOM instrument which flew aboard the P78-1 STP satellite. The data which was previously stored in 1/4 inch magnetic tape format is currently being transferred to a random access optical disk format. Although this is a simple process, it is very important to the ultimate data analysis. With random access to the data and a much smaller volume of storage media, the data will now be accessible for long term studies of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and far ultraviolet (FUV) aurora and airglow. About 1100 orbits have been archived, and work is continuing on archiving the rest of the data with support from elsewhere.

High sensitivity and spatial resolution observations of the He(2)II-304 A emission line intensity in the earth's nightglow have been carried out by the extreme ultraviolet telescope on the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July 1975. The data, obtained over a wide range of parameters, are compared with the predictions of a kinetic equilibrium model of plasmaspheric ion density. Excellent overall agreement observation and theory is found using as inputs a temperature model, solar flux, and H+ and O+ number densities determined by extrapolating nearly simultaneous Atmospheric Explorer C measurements at 300 km. The observations in the northern hemisphere are well fit by a model having 285 He+ ions cm-3 at 500 km independent of latitude or longitude while those in the south require 430 He+ ions cm -3 at the same altitude. This result is consistent with available information on the interhemispheric asymmetry of He+ observed by a mass spectrometer on Explorer 32 and on the winter neutral helium bulge. (Author), Prepared in cooperation with California Univ., Berkeley. Space Sciences Lab. and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. Sponsored in part by Grant NAG5-139.