Payload design and development of Aspera: the UV SmallSat mission for mapping warm-hot phase gas in nearby galaxy halos

Haeun Chung; Carlos J. Vargas; Erika Hamden; Thomas McMahon; Hannah Tanquary; Peter Behroozi; Ewan S. Douglas; Miriam Keppler; Nicole Melso; Simran Agarwal; Aafaque R. Khan; Jessica Li; Sumedha Uppnor; Jacob Chambers; Giulia Ghidoli; Gabe G. Noriega; Ryan Pecha; Ellie M. Wolcott; Fernando Coronado; Elijah Garcia; Daniel Truong; Naomi Yescas; Heejoo Choi; Tom Connors; Jason Corliss; Dave Hamara; Walter M. Harris; Karl Harshman; Daewook Kim; Corwynn Sauve; Bill Verts; Michael Ward; Dennis Zaritsky; Carl Hergenrother; John Kidd; Sanford Selznick; Oswald Siegmund; Simon Grocott; David Schiminovich; Keri Hoadley

doi:10.1117/12.2677212

27 September 2023 Payload design and development of Aspera: the UV SmallSat mission for mapping warm-hot phase gas in nearby galaxy halos

Haeun Chung, Carlos J. Vargas, Erika Hamden, Thomas McMahon, Hannah Tanquary, Peter Behroozi, Ewan S. Douglas, Miriam Keppler, Nicole Melso, Simran Agarwal, Aafaque R. Khan, Jessica Li, Sumedha Uppnor, Jacob Chambers, Giulia Ghidoli, Gabe G. Noriega, Ryan Pecha, Ellie M. Wolcott, Fernando Coronado, Elijah Garcia, Daniel Truong, Naomi Yescas, Heejoo Choi, Tom Connors, Jason Corliss, Dave Hamara, Walter M. Harris, Karl Harshman, Daewook Kim, Corwynn Sauve, Bill Verts, Michael Ward, Dennis Zaritsky, Carl Hergenrother, John Kidd, Sanford Selznick, Oswald Siegmund, Simon Grocott, David Schiminovich, Keri Hoadley

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Proceedings Volume 12678, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXIII; 126780C (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677212
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Aspera is the UV small-satellite mission to detect and map the warm-hot phase gas in nearby galaxy halo. Aspera was chosen as one of NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers missions in 2021 and employs a FUV long-slit spectrograph payload, optimized for low-surface brightness O VI emission line detection at 103-104 nm. The mission incorporates state-of-the-art UV technologies such as high-efficiency micro-channel plates and enhanced LiF coating to achieve a high level of diffuse-source sensitivity of the payload, down to 5.0E-19 erg/s/cm^2/arcsec^2. The combination of the high sensitivity and a 1-degree by 30-arcsecond long-slit field of view enables efficient 2D mapping of diffuse halo gas through step and stare concept observation. Aspera is presently in the critical design phase, with an expected launch date in mid-2025. This work provides a current overview of the Aspera payload design.

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Haeun Chung, Carlos J. Vargas, Erika Hamden, Thomas McMahon, Hannah Tanquary, Peter Behroozi, Ewan S. Douglas, Miriam Keppler, Nicole Melso, Simran Agarwal, Aafaque R. Khan, Jessica Li, Sumedha Uppnor, Jacob Chambers, Giulia Ghidoli, Gabe G. Noriega, Ryan Pecha, Ellie M. Wolcott, Fernando Coronado, Elijah Garcia, Daniel Truong, Naomi Yescas, Heejoo Choi, Tom Connors, Jason Corliss, Dave Hamara, Walter M. Harris, Karl Harshman, Daewook Kim, Corwynn Sauve, Bill Verts, Michael Ward, Dennis Zaritsky, Carl Hergenrother, John Kidd, Sanford Selznick, Oswald Siegmund, Simon Grocott, David Schiminovich, and Keri Hoadley "Payload design and development of Aspera: the UV SmallSat mission for mapping warm-hot phase gas in nearby galaxy halos", Proc. SPIE 12678, UV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Space Instrumentation for Astronomy XXIII, 126780C (27 September 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677212

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KEYWORDS

Galactic astronomy

Design and modelling

Ultraviolet radiation

Spectrographs

Computer generated holography

Optical alignment

Tolerancing

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