Space interferometry mission

Space interferometry mission

The Space Interferometry Mission , also known as SIM PlanetQuest , was a planned space telescope . One of the main goals was the search for earth-sized planets outside the solar system that orbit other stars ( exoplanets ). The project was discontinued in 2010.

description

It was developed in collaboration with contractor Northrop Grumman from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The project was led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California . The contracts for SIM Planet Quest in 1998, for a total of 200 million US dollars , granted. Working on the SIM project required the scientists and engineers to reach eight specific new technology milestones. These milestones were reached in November 2006.

The original plan was for SIM to launch PlanetQuest in 2005 on board an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). Due to repeated budget cuts, the start date has been postponed five times. NASA had planned a preliminary start date for 2015. As early as February 2007, many of the engineers from the SIM program were transferred to other areas and projects. In December 2007, Congress instructed NASA to move the mission from planning to development. The project was finally discontinued in 2010.

The spacecraft should use optical interferometry for various scientific purposes. In the technique of interferometry, light is collected by multiple telescope mirrors (in this case two mirrors six meters apart) as if they were one large mirror. In this way, good angular resolution can be achieved without the need for a correspondingly large and expensive mirror. In addition to searching for extrasolar planets, SIM should help astronomers map the Milky Way . Other important tasks were the collection of data that will help determine the stellar masses of different star types . This should contribute to the determination of the spatial distribution of dark matter in the universe.

See also

• COROT
• Darwin (ESA)
• Hubble Space Telescope
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Keck Observatory
• Kepler mission
• Palomar observatory
• Spitzer space telescope
• Terrestrial Planet Finder

literature

• Majewski, Steve, et al .: Measuring Fundamental Galactic Parameters with Stellar Tidal Streams and SIM PlanetQuest . In: The Astrophysical Journal . tape 637 , no. 1 , December 2005, p. L25-L28 ( online [PDF; accessed August 5, 2008]).

Web links

Commons : Space Interferometry Mission  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• NASA: SIM PlanetQuest Mission Profile (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rage Against the Dying of the Light. Astrobiology Magazine, accessed January 5, 2012 . 
2. ^ Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). (No longer available online.) In: Michelson Science Center. California Institute of Technology, archived from the original on June 17, 2007 ; accessed on April 24, 2007 (English). 
3. ↑ Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2008. (PDF; 528 kB) June 29, 2008, accessed on July 7, 2008 (English).