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THE NEXT-GENERATION INFRARED ASTRONOMY MISSION SPICA UNDER THE NEW FRAMEWORK

  • NAKAGAWA, TAKAO (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) ;
  • SHIBAI, HIROSHI (Graduate School of Science, Osaka University) ;
  • ONAKA, TAKASHI (Department of Physics, University of Tokyo) ;
  • MATSUHARA, HIDEO (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) ;
  • KANEDA, HIDEHIRO (Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University) ;
  • KAWAKATSU, YASUHIRO (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
  • Received : 2014.11.30
  • Accepted : 2015.06.30
  • Published : 2015.09.30
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Abstract

We present the current status (as of August 2014) of SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics), which is a mission optimized for mid- and far-infrared astronomy with a cryogenically cooled 3m-class telescope. SPICA is expected to achieve high spatial resolution and unprecedented sensitivity in the mid- and far-infrared, which will enable us to address a number of key problems in present-day astronomy, ranging from the star-formation history of the universe to the formation of planets. We have carried out the "Risk Mitigation Phase" activity, in which key technologies essential to the realization of the mission have been extensively developed. Consequently, technical risks for the success of the mission have been significantly mitigated. Along with these technical activities, the international collaboration framework of SPICA has been revisited, which resulted in la arger contribution from ESA than that in the original plan. To enable the ESA participation under the new framework, a SPICA proposal to ESA is under consideration as a medium-class mission under the framework of the ESA Cosmic Vision. The target launch year of SPICA under the new framework is the mid-2020s.

Keywords

References

  1. Nakagawa, T., Shibai, H., & Onaka, T., et al., 2014, The Next-generation Infrared Astronomy Mission SPICA Under the New Framework, Proc. SPIE 9143, 1IN
  2. Roelfsema, P. R., Giard, M., & Najarro, F., et al., 2014, SAFARI New and Improved: Extending the Capabilities of SPICA's Imaging Spectrometer, SPIE 9143, 50
  3. Shinozaki, K., Sato, Y., & Sawada, K., et al., 2014, Thermal Study of Payload module for the Next-generation Infrared Space Telescope SPICA in Risk Mitigation Phase, Cryo-genics, 64, 228 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cryogenics.2014.03.011

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