GUSTO (telescope)
The GUSTO (Galactic / Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory) mission is a high-altitude balloon mission that carries an infrared telescope to measure fine-structure line emission from the interstellar medium. The mission was developed by NASA's Explorers Program, and was launched in December 2023 from Antarctica.[1][2]
Overview
GUSTO will provide the first complete study of the life cycle of the interstellar medium, the gas and dust from which all stars and planets are formed.[3][unreliable source?] The mission is a Mission of Opportunity (MO) of NASA's Explorer's Program[2][3][unreliable source?] and is expected to cost about US$40 million.[4][5] It follows from the experience gained from two precursor or "pathfinder" missions: the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO) launched on 15 January 2012, and STO-2 launched on 8 December 2016.[4][5] The principal investigator is Christopher Walker at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.[4][5]
The telescope will be lifted by a superpressure balloon to the stratosphere at an altitude of 36 km (22 mi) above Antarctica, at the edge of space.[6][7] It will map portions of the Milky Way galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud in three specific regions of the far infrared (FIR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum called the "terahertz lines of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen".[7]
The flight is scheduled to launch in December 2023
Objective
The objective of GUSTO is to provide the first complete spectroscopic study of all phases of the stellar life cycle, from the formation of
Telescope and detectors
The gondola,
The gondola and instruments carried by the balloon have an approximate mass of 2,000 kg (4,400 lb)[5] and measures about 6 m wide by 6 m height (20 ft × 20 ft). The telescope has a 90 cm (35 in) mirror,[4] which will direct light to a series of superconducting detectors contained inside a cryostat that will keep them at −269 °C (−452 °F).[5]
Balloon
Originally proposed for use on a ULDB (UltraLong Duration Balloon) Superpressure balloon, issues with qualification of the balloon, resulted in use of an alternative 39 Million cubic feet volume, zero pressure balloon. The balloon will be provided by NASA's Balloon Program Office.
The flight will make use of a weather phenomenon known as an anticyclone that occurs during the Antarctic summer. The wind vortex will take the balloon on a circular flight trajectory over Antarctica for 55 to 120 days.[6][4] Recovery might not be possible for GUSTO, as the southern winter progresses the polar vortex will weaken and the balloon will leave Antarctica and drift northward.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO)". NASA. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Explorers Program – Missions of Opportunity – Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO)". GSFC. NASA. Retrieved 6 September 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e The GUSTO balloon mission, Bernasconi, Pietro; Walker, Christopher; Kulesa, Craig; 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 14–22 July 2018, in Pasadena, California, USA, Abstract id. PSB.1-31-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h NASA goes for the GUSTO to study Milky Way Jim Sharkey Spaceflight Insider 27 March 2017
- ^ a b c d e f g h i 100 Days Over the South Pole, Damond Benningfield, Air & Space Magazine, February 2018.
- ^ a b c d GUSTO: NASA approved the budget for balloon-borne telescope mission. Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON). The Netherlands, 29 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d From SRON: "Dutch "cameras" on NASA Science Mission "First complete study of all phases of the stellar life cycle" Published by Science Springs 28 March 2017