Abstract
The Habitable-Zone Exoplanet Observatory Mission (HabEx) is one of four large missions under review for the 2020 astrophysics decadal survey. Its goal is to directly image and spectroscopically characterize planetary systems in the habitable zone around nearby Sun-like stars. In addition, HabEx will perform a broad range of general astrophysics science enabled by a 115- to 1700-nm spectral range and 3 × 3 arcminute field of view. Critical to achieving its science goals, HabEx requires a large, ultrastable UV/optical/near-IR telescope. Using science-driven systems engineering, HabEx specified its baseline telescope to be a 4-m off-axis, unobscured three-mirror anastigmatic architecture with diffraction-limited performance at 400 nm, and wavefront stability on the order of a few tens of picometers. We summarize the systems-engineering approach to the baseline telescope assembly’s optomechanical design, including a discussion of how science requirements drive the telescope’s specifications. We also present structural thermal optical performance analysis showing that the baseline telescope structure meets its specified tolerances. We report new and updated analysis that is not in the HabEx final report.
Highlights
The Habitable-Zone Exoplanet Observatory Mission (HabEx) is one of four large missions under review for the 2020 astrophysics decadal survey
Diffraction limit is driven by both general astrophysics and coronagraphy because, along with aperture diameter, diffraction limit directly relates to the performance parameters of point spread function (PSF) size, EE, and Strehl ratio
structural thermal optical performance (STOP) analysis was performed with the integrated finite element models (FEM) and thermal models to calculate the rigid body motions (RBM) of the primary mirror (PM), secondary mirror (SM), and tertiary mirror (TM) caused by mechanical disturbance (Sec. 4.2.1) and thermal drift (Sec. 4.2.2)
Summary
“Are we alone in the Universe?” is maybe the most compelling science question of our generation. The National Research Council report, NASA Space Technology Roadmaps & Priorities,[2] states that the second-highest technical challenge for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for expanding our understanding of Earth and the universe in which we live is to “develop a new generation of astronomical telescopes that enable discovery of habitable planets, facilitate advances in solar physics, and enable the study of faint structures around bright objects by developing high-contrast imaging and spectroscopic technologies to provide unprecedented sensitivity, field of view (FOV), and spectroscopy of faint objects.”. In preparation for the 2020 decadal survey, NASA performed detailed concept studies of four potential missions One of these was the Habitable-Zone Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission. The only external assumptions are that the mission is launched in a Space Launch System (SLS) 8.4-m fairing, and the spacecraft uses low-disturbance microthrusters for pointing control
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