The ultraviolet universe is invisible from Earth’s surface, and most of what we see comes from a single orbiting observatory that could be retired in just a few years.
The Hubble Space Telescope is still in good health and may last until 2030, but it is gradually being dragged back in the Earth’s atmosphere. No spacecraft has been able to visit Hubble since 2009, two years before NASA retired its spacecraft spaceship fleet. There are plans for an early stage Refurbishing Hubble, possibly using a SpaceX Dragon vehicle. But in the meantime, Hubble’s eventual retirement could leave a wide gap.
Hubble’s sharp eyes include ultraviolet vision. Earth’s atmosphere blocks most ultraviolet light, so it takes a space telescope to really image the young, hot stars that astronomers want to look at at those wavelengths – or growing stars. black holesor explosions in the depths room. (There are now other ultraviolet telescopes aboard spacecraft, but these are mostly on limited missions that don’t cover the scope of the universe as Hubble does.)
So now is the time, a team of a hundred astronomers argue, to fund a new telescope that will fly in 2029 with ultraviolet capabilities on board. The design is ready. The international and industrial partners are lined up. But what is needed is a commitment from the Canadian government to fund the next phases of the CASTOR telescope, which was considered a top priority by the Canadian government. astronomy community in being latest planning reportpublished December 2020.
“Hubble is almost 30 years old. It’s been a great workhorse, but it won’t last forever,” said CASTOR principal team member Sarah Gallagher, president of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CACSA) and astrophysicist at Western University of Ontario.
“We’re really in a wonderful position,” Gallagher told Space.com, “based on all the work we’ve done and choosing to tailor the requirements to really fit this niche. That’s scientifically speaking very exciting. “
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CASTOR stands for Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research. The planned 1-meter-wide observatory is part of a new generation of telescopes that pack a lot of functionality into a small package. It would only cost about $350 million (CAD $480 million) – roughly equal to Hubble’s average annual cost, without the Space Shuttle’s five maintenance missions. (Hubble’s mission has cost a total of about $16 billion in constant dollars since development began in 1977, according to NASA figures updated last month.)
Canadian astronomers would like to lead the orbiting telescope, which will fly about 500 miles (800 kilometers) high — double the height of Earth. International Space Station (ISS). Canada would contribute approximately 60% of the costs ($300 million CAD), with the balance coming from international partners. Major Canadian companies or affiliates like Honeywell, ABB and Magellan are ready to jump in when asked. The British Space Agency, NASA Jet propulsion laboratory and space authorities in France, Spain and Israel are all looking to contribute, with launch pad options in India or South Korea.
But the funding decision currently rests with Canada’s parliament, which is preparing the country’s 2024 budget for release in the spring. An August pre-budget proposal from the CASTOR team argues that the mission would “solidify Canada’s global leadership in astronomy” and allow the country to finally lead an international astronomy project for the first time after decades of research and contributions to other major projects. attempts. It is also a large research team: that country alone involves representatives from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Canadian National Research Council, the Canadian Astronomical Society and many universities.
By the way, Canada is known for its smart space bets with limited tax dollars in a country with only 40 million inhabitants. The Canadarm robotic arm series has been purchasing the country’s astronaut seats since 1984; In 2023 alone, that commitment brought with it the promise to send CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen to the moon on NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, along with funding for backup CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons. Fellow CSA astronaut Josh Kutryk will also fly to the International Space Station in 2025.
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This year also saw a flurry of other space announcements. There are promises to update Canada’s launch rules supporting commercial rocket efforts. Canada also gave one funded effort to expand and renew the long-standing Radarsat Soil observation ranges crucial for military and climate change observations. It even promised to support a new “lunar utility vehicle.” Artemis program lunar astronauts, while continuing to fund a mini-rover that would launch in 2026. (The rover’s science team is led by fellow Western University professor Gordon Osinski, who regularly teaches geology to NASA and CSA astronauts, along with several space flyers to accompany him on expeditions to remote places here on earth.)
Although CASTOR has a smaller mirror than Hubble, the detector will look at much wider parts of the sky in both optical and ultraviolet light. For example, if astronomers can see a large part of the sky at once in ultraviolet, they can focus on parts of it the universe that’s changing quickly: “A lot of times those are very exciting things, like things that explode. We like cosmic explosions,” said Gallagher. Rapidly detecting such outbursts could enable powerful ground-based instruments, such as the search for gravitational waves LIGO to follow up on the finds.
Studying ultraviolet wavelengths on a large scale also makes CASTOR complementary to two other large-field missions that astronomers are working on. The European Space Agency‘S Euclid telescope that was launched into deep space in July and is already providing images in optical and near-infrared light. And in 2027 NASA‘s infrared search Roman Space Telescope Nancy Grace will follow Euclid Lagrange point 2. That’s a gravitationally stable orbit 1.5 million km away from us on the other side of the sun.
Gallagher says if all three telescopes could work together in real time, before Euclid’s main mission ends in 2029, that would be ideal – although CASTOR could always follow up on Euclid’s work afterwards if necessary.
“What’s great about having CASTOR, plus Euclid, plus Roman, is that they all focus on different parts, different colors, and when you have all three together they all become better, because you get so much more information,” she said. . The ultraviolet display would provide additional information about galaxy populations (old versus young). stars), or the sources of quasars that are powered by black holes.
“What I’m particularly interested in are these objects that change over time,” Gallagher continued. “So if you go back and look at them again and again to see that they get a little brighter… you can look at how that changes as a function of color. And that can tell you something about the whole structure of the system that drives the black hole.”
Phase 0, the mission analysis and identification phase for the telescope, was completed in Julyand the CASTOR team have been busy gathering support for their budget submission. Numerous parliamentarians have been consulted. Letters of support came in from 13 different university research vice-presidents, along with the Canadian Association of Physicists. Gallagher himself met with representatives from across Canada this fall at the annual Space Borne conference, which brings together much of the scientific, government and industry communities, to continue funding discussions.
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“This is a project that has been well researched. A lot of the technology risks have been retired. The science case is just so exciting. That’s why we were able to get these partners on board,” said Gallagher. But she acknowledged that securing its funding is not guaranteed.
“Everyone we’ve talked to is honestly pretty excited about it. But it is a difficult budget cycle and we realize there are also many important priorities. But I think this is really the kind of thing where Canada can be a leader in the economy. an exciting, world-class mission. The potential for training and inspiring the next generation in all different areas is truly fantastic.”