The New Worlds Observer: a mission for high-resolution spectroscopy of extra-solar terrestrial planets

Willard L. Simmons; Webster C. Cash; Sara Seager; Erik Wilkinson; N. Jeremy Kasdin; Robert J. Vanderbei; Naomi Chow; Erica Gralla; Johanna Kleingeld

doi:10.1117/12.552069

12 October 2004 The New Worlds Observer: a mission for high-resolution spectroscopy of extra-solar terrestrial planets

Willard L. Simmons, Webster C. Cash, Sara Seager, Erik Wilkinson, N. Jeremy Kasdin, Robert J. Vanderbei, Naomi Chow, Erica Gralla, Johanna Kleingeld

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5487, Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Space Telescopes; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552069
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

The New Worlds Observer (NWO) is a proposed space mission to provide high resolution spectroscopy from the far UV to the near IR of extra-solar terrestrial sized planets. The design of NWO is based on the concept of a large, space-based, pinhole camera made up of two spacecraft flying in formation. The first spacecraft is a large, thin occulting shield (perhaps hundreds of meters in diameter) with a shaped "pinhole" aperture about 10m in diameter. The second spacecraft is a conventional-quality space telescope (possibly with a 10m primary mirror) which "flies" through the pinhole image of the planetary system to observe the extra-solar planets free from stellar background. In this paper we describe the design of the two spacecraft system. In particular, the shaped-pinhole design utilizes the shaped-pupil coronagraph pioneered for the Terrestrial Planet Finder. In this paper we describe some of the NWO's technology challenges and science opportunities. Additionally, we describe an extension of the design to provide 100km resolution images of extra-solar planets.

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Willard L. Simmons, Webster C. Cash, Sara Seager, Erik Wilkinson, N. Jeremy Kasdin, Robert J. Vanderbei, Naomi Chow, Erica Gralla, and Johanna Kleingeld "The New Worlds Observer: a mission for high-resolution spectroscopy of extra-solar terrestrial planets", Proc. SPIE 5487, Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Space Telescopes, (12 October 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.552069

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