Balloon Platform for Ultra-Low-Background Spectroscopy
Project Description
Far-infrared astronomical observations are limited by foreground emission originating within the atmosphere or instrument optics. A new observing technique combining several elements can reduce foreground emission by a factor of 1000 or more compared to current state-of-the-art observations from ground-based or airborne platforms. The increased sensitivity improves mapping speed by a factor of 100,000 to allow performance comparable to space mission from low-cost suborbital platforms.
Task includes: Thermal/mechanical design study
More »Anticipated Benefits
Technology is aimed at a future balloon-borne spectrometer operating at wavelengths from 50 to 1000 microns. Reducing foreground emission by factors of 1000 or more reduces the necessary integration time and improves mapping speed by a factor of 100,000.
More »
Project Library
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, Maryland |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Maryland
Suggest an Edit
This is a historic project that was completed before the creation of TechPort on October 1, 2012. Available data has been included. This record may contain less data than currently active projects.