SSO Small Explorer Acquistion.

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
June 19, 2009
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov
 

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected two science proposals to be developed into full missions as part of the agency's Small Explorer, or SMEX, Program. The selections will implement projects that will study our sun and some of the most exotic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and black holes.

Both missions will launch by 2015; the first could launch by the end of 2012. Mission costs will be capped at $105 million each, excluding the launch vehicle.

"These two missions demonstrate the value of the Small Explorer Program," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "For a relatively small investment, we'll see an amazing amount of science generated."

The two winning proposals are:

1. Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. Principal Investigator Alan M. Title, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, Calif.

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission will use a solar telescope and spectrograph to explore the solar chromospheres. This is a crucial region for understanding energy transport into the solar wind and an archetype for stellar atmospheres. Recent discoveries have shown the chromosphere is significantly more dynamic and structured than previously thought. The unique instrument capabilities, coupled with state of the art 3-D modeling, will explore this dynamic region in detail. The mission will greatly extend the scientific output of existing heliophysics spacecraft that follow the effects of energy release processes from the sun to Earth.

2. Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX. Principal Investigator Jean H. Swank, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Among the thousands of X-ray sources observed with prior and current X-ray satellites, only one astrophysical object, the Crab Nebula, has been measured in polarized X-rays. By providing an increase in sensitivity of more than 100 times, the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX mission will detect and measure the polarization of the X-rays emitted by some of the most energetic and enigmatic objects in the cosmos. These include ultra-dense neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes, which are the remains of the dying explosions of very hot, massive stars, and ultra-massive black holes at the centers of distant galaxies. By studying the changes with time and energy of their polarized X-ray emission, the mission will probe the bending of space and the curving of light in regions of extreme gravity near these objects.

The SMEX Program is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for heliophysics and astrophysics missions using small- to mid-sized spacecraft. The program also seeks to raise public awareness of NASA's space science missions through educational and public outreach activities. The winning proposals are the 12th and 13th Small Explorer missions selected for flight.

For more information about the Explorer Program on the Internet, visit: http://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
June 20, 2008
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
 

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected two science proposals to be the agency's next Explorer Program Mission of Opportunity investigations. One activity will study black holes and other extreme environments in the universe. The other will determine how the Earth's outer atmosphere responds to external forces.

The first investigation will provide a U.S. science instrument to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's New exploration X-Ray Telescope, or NeXT. The telescope, currently planned for launch in 2013, will open a new observing window on X-rays and the study of astrophysical phenomena. NASA's proposed funding for the instrument and operations is $44 million.

The other investigation will fly an atmospheric remote sensing instrument package aboard a yet-to-be-determined future commercial satellite. The investigation initially will be funded at approximately $250,000 for a concept study to aid in a NASA decision on further development.

"These selections offer unique and cost-effective science opportunities," said Charles Gay, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "They expand NASA's science through partnerships with international and commercial organizations."

The two investigations were selected from among 17 proposals received by NASA earlier this year. They were evaluated by peer reviewers. The selected proposals are:

-- High-Resolution Soft X-Ray Spectrometer (SXS) for NEXT, Principal Investigator Richard L. Kelley, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md. The SXS will probe matter in extreme environments; investigate the nature of dark matter on large scales in the universe; and explore how galaxies and clusters of galaxies form and evolve.

-- Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD), Principal Investigator Richard Eastes, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla. GOLD will increase our understanding of the temperature and composition in the ionosphere; and provide understanding of the global scale response of the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere.

NASA's Explorer Program is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for heliophysics and astrophysics missions with small to mid-sized spacecraft. The program is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

For more information about the Explorer Program on the Internet, visit: http://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
May 28, 2008
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov
 
RELEASE: C08-029
 
NASA SELECTS SMALL EXPLORER INVESTIGATIONS FOR CONCEPT STUDIES
 

Washington -- NASA has selected six candidate mission proposals for further evaluation as part of the agency's Small Explorer (SMEX) Program. The proposals will study the far reaches of the universe, including the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere, the Sun, black holes, the first stars, and Earthlike planets around nearby stars.

Following detailed mission concept studies, NASA intends to select two of the mission proposals in the spring of 2009 for full development as SMEX missions. The first mission could launch by 2012. Both will launch by 2015. Mission costs will be capped at $105 million each, excluding the launch vehicle.

"We received many excellent proposals," said Mr. Charles Gay, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, "The six we selected for further study offer outstanding science in a small satellite mission."

The selected proposals were judged to have the best science value among 32 compliant SMEX proposals submitted to NASA in January 2008. Each will receive $750,000 to conduct a six-month implementation feasibility study.

The selected proposals are:

-- Coronal Physics Explorer (CPEX), Principal Investigator Dennis G. Socker, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. – CPEX will use a solar coronograph to study the processes responsible for accelerating the solar wind and generating the coronal mass ejections that can impact the Earth.

-- Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX (GEMS), Principal Investigator Jean H. Swank, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. – GEMS will use an X-ray telescope to track the flow of highly magnetized matter into supermassive black holes.

-- Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), Principal Investigator Alan M. Title, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Palo Alto, Calif. – IRIS will use a solar telescope and spectrograph to reveal the dynamics of the solar chromosphere and transition region.

-- Joint Astrophysics Nascent Universe Satellite (JANUS), Principal Investigator Peter W.A. Roming, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Penn. – JANUS will use a gamma-ray burst monitor to point its infrared telescope at the most distant galaxies to measure the star-formation history of the universe.

-- Neutral Ion Coupling Explorer (NICE), Principal Investigator Stephen B. Mende, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. – NICE will use a suite of remote sensing and in situ instruments to discover how winds and the composition of the upper atmosphere drive the electrical fields and chemical reactions that control the Earth's ionosphere.

-- Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Principal Investigator George R. Ricker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. – TESS will use a bank of six telescopes to observe the brightest 2.5 million stars and discover more than 1,000 Earth-to-Jupiter-sized planets around them.

NASA also received 17 Mission of Opportunity proposals for consideration and will schedule an evaluation board at a later date.

The proposals are vying to be the 12th and 13th Small Explorer missions selected for full development. The Explorer program is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for heliophysics and astrophysics missions with small to mid-sized spacecraft. The program is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

For more information about the Explorer Program on the Internet, visit: http://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA and space science on the Internet, visit: http://www.nasa.gov