The extreme ultraviolet explorer mission

Abstract

Abstract The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer ( EUVE ) mission, currently scheduled for launch in September 1991, is described. The primary purpose of the mission is to survey the celestial sphere for astronomical sources of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. The survey will be accomplished with the use of three EUV telescopes, each sensitive to a different segment of the EUV band. A fourth telescope will perform a high sensitivity search of a limited sample of the sky in the shortest wavelength bands. The all-sky survey will be carried out in the first six months of the mission and will be made in four bands, or colors, λλ70–180 A, 170–250 A, 400–600 A, and 500–700 A. The second phase of the mission, conducted entirely by Guest Observers selected by NASA, will be devoted to spectroscopic observations of EUV sources. The performance of the instrument components is described. The mirrors meet the requirements of the mission, with the best mirror having a full width half energy spread of 4″ and a surface finish of 20 A. Prototype thin film bandpass filters have been flown on the Space Shuttle and their performance optimized. Prototype detectors have been developed which have 1680 × 1680 pixel imaging capability (RMS) and up to 80% quantum efficiency. A newly invented, high efficiency grazing incidence spectrometer using variable line-space gratings will provide spectral data with ∼1 A resolution. An end-to-end model of the mission, from a stellar source to the resulting scientific data, has been constructed. Hypothetical data from astronomical sources have been processed through this model and are shown.