Darwin (spacecraft)
Mission type | observatory |
---|---|
Operator | ESA |
Website | www |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Sun–Earth L2 |
Regime | Halo orbit |
Epoch | planned |
Darwin was a suggested
The study of this proposed mission ended in 2007 with no further activities planned.[1] To produce an image, the telescopes would have had to operate in formation with distances between the telescopes controlled to within a few micrometres, and the distance between the telescopes and receiver controlled to within about one nanometre.[4] Several more detailed studies would have been needed to determine whether technology capable of such precision is actually feasible.[2]
Concept
The space telescopes were to observe in the
The infrared region was chosen because in the visible spectrum an Earth-like planet is outshone by its star by a factor of a
The planet search would have used a
For planet detection, the telescopes would operate in an imaging mode. The detection of an Earth-like planet would require about 10 hours of observation in total, spread out over several months.[citation needed] A 2002 design which would have used 1.5 metre mirrors was expected to take about 100 hours to get a spectrum of a possibly Earth-like planet.[5]
Were the Darwin spacecraft to detect a suitable planet, a more detailed study of its atmosphere would have been made by taking an infrared spectrum of the planet. By analyzing this spectrum, the chemistry of the atmosphere could be determined, and this could provide evidence for life on the planet. The presence of oxygen and water vapour in the atmosphere could be evidence for life. Oxygen is very reactive so if large amounts of oxygen exist in a planet's atmosphere some process such as photosynthesis must be continuously producing it.
The presence of oxygen alone, however, is not conclusive evidence for life. Jupiter's moon
Candidate planets
Planet
Similar initiatives
The interferometric version of
References
- ^ a b "Darwin factsheet: Finding Earth-like planets". European Space Agency. 2009-10-23. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ a b c "Darwin: study ended, no further activities planned". European Space Agency. 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ a b c Fridlund, CVM (August 2000). "ESA Bulletin 103: Darwin: The Infrared Space Interferometry Mission" (PDF). ESA. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
- ^ Penny, Alan J (1999-07-27). "A concept for the 'Free-Flyer' version". Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ a b Karlsson, Anders; Malcolm Fridlund (April 2002). "Darwin: The Infrared Space Interferometer". Alcatel. Archived from the original (GIF) on 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- S2CID 14475537.
- ^ Science Daily: Extrasolar planet may indeed be habitable
- Planetary Society. 2006-02-06. Archived from the originalon 2006-06-16. Retrieved 2006-07-17.
- ^ "NASA President's FY 2007 Budget Request" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
External links