Large UV Optical Infrared Surveyor
The Large UV Optical Infrared Surveyor ( LUVOIR , German for "large surveyor in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared range") is a proposed space telescope that is supposed to observe the universe in several wavelengths. Like the Hubble space telescope, LUVOIR would be versatile; however, a special focus would be on the study of exoplanets .
LUVOIR is one of four concepts for large space telescopes that were developed for the ten-year scientific report 2020 Decadal Survey . It is not yet clear which of these will be realized. If LUVOIR were to receive a funding commitment in time, development would begin after 2020 and the telescope could be operational in the late 2030s .
Two differently expensive and powerful LUVOIR variants were proposed: LUVOIR-A with a 15 m mirror and four different instruments, and LUVOIR-B with an 8 m mirror and three instruments. (In comparison, Hubble has a 2.4 m mirror and the James Webb Telescope has a 6.5 m.) Both models could be launched into space with a single launcher .
The concept envisages equipping LUVOIR with a coronograph , which would make it possible to block out the bright starlight and observe the neighboring planets directly. It should cover light in the range from 100 to 2500 nanometers in wavelength, i.e. from far ultraviolet to near infrared .
The telescope would be stationed at the second Lagrangian point of the sun-earth system.
The larger LUVOIR-A could be transported with a Space Launch System rocket (Block 2), while the smaller LUVOIR-B could also be transported with an SLS Block 1, a New Glenn rocket or a Starship space shuttle.
Web links
- LUVOIR website
- LUVOIR Final Report (PDF, 120 MB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2020 Decadal Survey Planning . NASA, accessed October 3, 2019.