Title :
THz for space: The golden age
Author :
Siegel, Peter H.
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA
Abstract :
Over the past three decades interest in the unique spectral measurements offered by terahertz instruments operat-ing outside the Earth´s atmosphere has grown enormously. Since the historic flight of Cosmos 669 in 1974, and the first THz telescope with cryo-cooled detectors operated on board Salyut 6 in 1978, satellite instruments have performed both direct detection and heterodyne spectroscopy measurements in the interstellar medium, in external galaxies, in the atmospheres of planets and comets and in the Earth´s stratosphere. Seven-teen orbital instruments containing THz sensors or sources have either completed their mission objectives or are currently operational. They originate in Russia, Japan, Europe and the US and cover applications in astrophysics and cosmology; planetary and small solar system body science; and pollution, ozone and climate monitoring on the Earth. At least a dozen serious future mission proposals are under consideration, including new areas of meteorology, terrestrial planet finding and planetary radar spectroscopy. It is truly a golden age for THz space science and applications. This talk will review past, present and future space instruments carrying infrared, millimeter wave and terahertz components and their science objectives.
Keywords :
aerospace instrumentation; artificial satellites; submillimetre wave detectors; terahertz spectroscopy; AD 1974; AD 1978; Cosmos 669; Earth atmosphere; Salyut 6; cryo-cooled detectors; heterodyne spectroscopy measurements; infrared space instruments; interstellar medium; meteorology; millimeter-Wave space instruments; planetary radar spectroscopy; spectral measurements; terahertz instruments; terahertz sensors; terahertz telescope; terrestrial planet finding; Atmospheric measurements; Detectors; Extraterrestrial measurements; Instruments; Planets; Pollution measurement; Spectroscopy; Submillimeter wave measurements; Telescopes; Terrestrial atmosphere;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Symposium Digest (MTT), 2010 IEEE MTT-S International
Conference_Location :
Anaheim, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-6056-4
Electronic_ISBN :
0149-645X
DOI :
10.1109/MWSYM.2010.5515761