We present the design of the Spectroscopic Ultraviolet Multi-object Observatory (SUMO), a small satellite mission concept for astrophysics research. SUMO's science instrument is a multi-object spectrograph based on a customized digital micromirror device (DMD). Like other DMD-based spectrographs, SUMO employs parallel imaging and spectroscopic channels. The imaging channel operates in the NUV range and covers a field of view of 2.5 square degrees, with a spatial resolution of 5 arcseconds. The spectrograph channel is designed to achieve a resolving power of R~2500, operating in the range of 140 - 200 nm. The imaging and spectroscopic channels employ a CCD detector and a microchannel plate detector, respectively. Recent advances in satellite bus technology and a wave of successful NASA-funded technology development programs allow SUMO to achieve an effective area comparable to much larger missions of the past.
The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a 6U cubesat housing a Cassegrain telescope and a nea rultraviolet (NUV) spectrograph designed to study the composition and mass-loss rates of exoplanet atmospheres. This instrument covers a bandpass of 250 - 330 nm with a peak effective area of ~28 cm2 and a resolving power of ~2000. The instrument focal plane consists of a back illuminated CCD driven by clocking and readout electronics developed at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Special consideration is given to achieving low noise readout due to typical observation signal levels and time constraints of exoplanet transit observations. Additionally, the electronics driving the CCD are space constrained and designed to fit in a cubesat 1/2U volume. Prior to installation in the flight instrument the detector system parameters are optimized and characterized at LASP in a custom ultraviolet detector test chamber. Engineering and technical details including system gain, quantum efficiency, and read noise are discussed. We present the development, optimization, and characterization results of the CCD and associated readout electronics developed for the CUTE instrument.
The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a 6U CubeSat designed to explore the upper atmospheres of short-period exoplanets via near-ultraviolet (2500 – 3300 Å) transmission spectroscopy, with an anticipated launch date of September 2021. The 4U science instrument comprises a Cassegrain telescope with a 20 × 8 cm primary mirror, a spectrograph, and a thermal-electrically cooled CCD detector. The spacecraft structure and a 1.5U XB1 avionics module are provided by Blue Canyon Technologies. CUTE’s novel and compact instrument design presents unique challenges to conducting component-level testing, alignment, instrument and spacecraft integration, calibration, and end-to-end performance testing. We provide a description of several custom test setups and procedures designed to characterize the spectrograph performance and its expected science return. We also outline the remainder of our integration and testing plan.
The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a near-UV (NUV), 6U CubeSat designed to characterize the interaction between exoplanetary atmospheres and their host stars. CUTE is dedicated to observing multiple transits of short period planets with a range of masses to measure the transit depths of atomic and molecular nearUV features. These observations will enable us to quantify as a function of wavelength the transit ingress, egress, and depth of exoplanet light curves in order to determine the presence of bow shocks and strong atmospheric mass loss. The CUTE optical system combines a novel rectangular Cassegrain telescope and a holographically-ruled, aberration-correcting diffraction grating. The high-throughput optical system is projected to obtain an average effective area of ≈24 cm2 , comparable to previous Explorer class missions (GALEX) in a CubeSat package. This proceeding provides an overview of the science motivation, the final telescope and spacecraft design, and an outline of the mission operation.
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