Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

Karl R. Stapelfeldt; Frank G. Dekens; Michael P. Brenner; Keith R. Warfield; Ruslan Belikov; Paul B. Brugarolas; Geoffrey Bryden; Kerri L. Cahoy; Supriya Chakrabarti; Serge Dubovitsky; Robert T. Effinger; Brian Hirsch; Andrew Kissil; John E. Krist; Jared J. Lang; Mark S. Marley; Michael W. McElwain; Victoria S. Meadows; Joel Nissen; Jeffrey M. Oseas; Chris Pong; Eugene Serabyn; Eric Sunada; John T. Trauger; Stephen C. Unwin

doi:10.1117/12.2191720

16 September 2015 Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

Karl R. Stapelfeldt, Frank G. Dekens, Michael P. Brenner, Keith R. Warfield, Ruslan Belikov, Paul B. Brugarolas, Geoffrey Bryden, Kerri L. Cahoy, Supriya Chakrabarti, Serge Dubovitsky, Robert T. Effinger, Brian Hirsch, Andrew Kissil, John E. Krist, Jared J. Lang, Mark S. Marley, Michael W. McElwain, Victoria S. Meadows, Joel Nissen, Jeffrey M. Oseas, Chris Pong, Eugene Serabyn, Eric Sunada, John T. Trauger, Stephen C. Unwin

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9605, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VII; 96050T (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2191720
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015.

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Karl R. Stapelfeldt, Frank G. Dekens, Michael P. Brenner, Keith R. Warfield, Ruslan Belikov, Paul B. Brugarolas, Geoffrey Bryden, Kerri L. Cahoy, Supriya Chakrabarti, Serge Dubovitsky, Robert T. Effinger, Brian Hirsch, Andrew Kissil, John E. Krist, Jared J. Lang, Mark S. Marley, Michael W. McElwain, Victoria S. Meadows, Joel Nissen, Jeffrey M. Oseas, Chris Pong, Eugene Serabyn, Eric Sunada, John T. Trauger, and Stephen C. Unwin "Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems", Proc. SPIE 9605, Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets VII, 96050T (16 September 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2191720

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