Max-Planck-Institut
  für extraterrestrische Physik

              

Active projects are projects that collect data and/or are operational.
Past projects are projects where data gathering or operation has been terminated but very often data analysis and interpretation are still very intensive.
Future projects are under construction, accepted, or proposed.

Active Projects		Past Projects	Future Projects
ACE Chandra CLUSTER ESO-VLT Fermi (GLAST) GROND HASTA Herschel (FIRST) INTEGRAL LBT	OPTIMA PARSEC Plasma Kristall (PKE) Rosetta SAMPEX SOHO SPIFFI STEREO Swift XMM-Newton	Abrixas ALFA AMPTE Azur Compton GRO Cos B Equator-S EXOSAT Firewheel Helios HEXE ISO Mir-HEXE ROSAT SMM Stardust Ulysses	under construction eROSITA GRAVITY KMOS SOFIA accepted . . . . proposed IXO (XEUS)

 

Satellite Launch April 28, 1999 End of Mission July 12, 1999 Status total loss MPE Participation Satellite Telescopes Detectors

Abrixas ABRIXAS was a national X-ray satellite with seven 27-fold nested Wolter-1 telescopes, sharing one 6 × 6 cm2 pn-CCD detector (copy of the EPIC camera developed for XMM-Newton) in the focus. Launched on April 28, 1999 ABRIXAS was supposed to perform the first complete all-sky survey with imaging telescopes in the medium energy X-ray range (0.5 - 15 keV). A three-years scanning mission was planned to detect at least 10.000 new hard X-ray sources obscured by gas and dust clouds and to study diffuse X-ray sources and bright time-variable X-ray sources. Due to a failure of the on-board batteries, the mission ended already few days after launch without any scientific data taken. For more information please see the MPE Abrixas pages

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Satellite Launch August 25, 1997 End of Mission t.b.d. Status active; at L1 MPE Participation Solar Energetic Particle Ionic Charge Analyzer (SEPICA)

ACE Advanced Composition Explorer The Earth is constantly bombarded with a stream of accelerated particles arriving not only from the Sun, but also from interstellar and galactic sources. The study of these energetic particles is the aim of the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and this will contribute to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system as well as the astrophysical processes involved. The ACE spacecraft carrying six high-resolution sensors and three monitoring instruments samples low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles with a collecting power 10 to 1000 times greater than past experiments. ACE orbits the L1 libration point which is a point of Earth-Sun gravitational equilibrium about 1.5 million km from Earth and 148.5 million km from the Sun. With a semi-major axis of approximately 200,000 km the elliptical orbit affords ACE a prime view of the Sun and the galactic regions beyond. For more information please see the ACE / SEPICA pages at UNH Caltech ACE pages

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ALFA Adaptive optics with a Laser for Astronomy ALFA is the "adaptive optics with a laser for astronomy" system for the Calar Alto 3.5-m telescope. It is a joint project between the MPIA in Heidelberg and the MPE. This system dramatically improves the image resolution in the near-infrared regime. Diffraction limited images at 2.2 microns obtained with ALFA have a higher spatial resolution than those obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. ALFA is based on a Shack-Hartmann sensor with a high-speed low-noise CCD camera, a 97-actuator deformable mirror, a tip-tilt sensor (CCD camera), a tip-tilt mirror and a continuous Ar-Ion laser pumped dye laser which generates the laser beacon in the sodium layer of the mesosphere. For more information please see the MPE ALFA pages

MPE Participation: Joint project between MPE and MPIA in Heidelberg

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AMPTE Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorer The AMPTE mission was designed to study the access of solar-wind ions to the magnetosphere, the convective-diffusive transport and energization of magnetospheric particles, and the interactions of plasmas in space. It created the first artificial comet. The mission consisted of three spacecraft: the CCE; the IRM, which provided multiple ion releases in the solar wind, the magnetosheath, and the magnetotail, with in situ diagnostics of each; and the UKS, which used thrusters to keep station near the IRM to provide two-point local measurements. More information is available on the AMPTE pages at NASA AMPTE pages of the DLR

Satellite Launch August 16, 1984 End of Mission August 13, 1986 Status inaktive MPE Participation: IRM (Ion Release Module)

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Chandra (AXAF) High resolution imaging and spectroscopy X-ray mission The Chandra X-ray Observatory (formerly known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility - AXAF) is the NASA follow-up mission to the Einstein Observatory. The Chandra instrumentation consists of a high resolution mirror, two imaging detectors, and two sets of transmission gratings with following important features: an order of magnitude improvement in spatial resolution, good sensitivity from 0.1 to 10 keV, and the capability for high spectral resolution observations over most of this range. The MPE contributed the Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) in collaboration with the Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON) in Utrecht. For more information please see the MPE Chandra pages NASA Chandra pages

Satellite Launch (by Space Shuttle) July 23, 1999 Duration of Mission > 10 years Status aktive MPE Participation Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETG)

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CLUSTER ESA's Cluster mission consists of four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral (triangular pyramid) formation between 25000 and 125000 km above the Earth. They will study the planet's magnetic field and electric surroundings in three dimensions. In particular, they will be looking at the effects of the solar wind, which buffets Earth's protective magnetosphere. Each of the Cluster spacecraft carries an identical set of 11 instruments. These are sensitive to electric and magnetic fields, various electric and magnetic waves, and to electrons and charged atoms. The mission is a direct repeat of the original Cluster project lost during the explosion of the Ariane-5 demonstration flight in June 1996. Cluster will be based on the original mission, even using some of the original spare parts. Its scientific objectives also remain unchanged. The names of the four: Rumba, Salsa, Samba and Tango. In 2005, the cluster mission was extended till 2009 ( more). For more information please see the CLUSTER pages at MPE German CLUSTER Data Centre (GCDC) pages at MPE ESA CLUSTER pages

Satellite Launch (2 x Soyuz) July 16, 2000, 14:39 CEDT; August 9, 2000, 13:13 CEDT Duration of Mission extended till 2009 Status all satellites in final orbit MPE Participation Cluster Ion Spectrometer (CIS) Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) Fluxgate Magnetometer (FGM) German Cluster Science data Center (GCDC)

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Compton GRO Compton Gamma Ray Observatory The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was the second of NASA's Great Observatories. Compton, at 17 tons, the heaviest astrophysical payload ever flown, was launched on April 5, 1991 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Compton has four instruments that cover an unprecedented six decades of the electromagnetic spectrum, from 30 keV to 30 GeV. In order of increasing spectral energy coverage, these instruments are the Burst And Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), the Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE), the Imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL), and the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET). For each of the instruments, an improvement in sensitivity of better than a factor of ten is realized over previous missions. In a highly controversial decision, NASA ended the mission on June 4, 2000 by intentionally destroying CGRO during a forced re-entry. For more information please see the MPE Gamma-ray Astronomy pages MPE COMPTEL pages MPE EGRET pages Compton GRO Science Support Center pages (NASA)

Satellite Launch (by Space Shuttle) April 5, 1991 End of Mission June 4, 2000 Status satellite destroyed during re-entry MPE Participation COMPTEL EGRET

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Satellite Launch December 2, 1997 End of Mission May 1, 1998 Location Earth Orbit MPE Participation Satellite Magnetic Field Instrument (MAM) Electron Drift Instrument (EDI)

Equator-S was a low-cost mission designed to study the Earth's equatorial magnetosphere out to distances of 67000 km and it formed an element of the closely-coordinated fleet of satellites that comprise the IASTP program. It was based on a simple spacecraft design and carried a science payload consisting of advanced instruments that were developed for other IASTP missions. Unique features of Equator-S were its nearly equatorial orbit and its high spin rate. The satellite and major parts of the experiment in which the institute was involved were designed and built at MPE. Equator-S was launched as an auxiliary payload on an Ariane-4 on December 2nd, 1997. The mission was intended for a two-year lifetime but ended premature after the failure of the primary and redundant on-board processor system on May 1st 1998. For more information please see the MPE Equator-S pages

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ESO Very Large Telescope Instrumentation The ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory (Atacama, Chile) is the world's largest and most advanced optical telescope. It comprises four 8.2-m reflecting Unit Telescopes and several moving 1.8-m Auxiliary Telescopes, the light beams of which can be combined in the VLT Interferometer (VLTI). With its unprecedented optical resolution and unsurpassed surface area, the VLT produces extremely sharp images and can record light from the faintest and most remote objects in the Universe. The MPE is involved in development and construction of several instruments to be used at the telescopes. For more information please see the MPE CONICA pages MPE GRAVITY pages MPE LISA pages MPE PARSEC pages MPE SPIFFI pages ESO VLT pages

MPE Participation Coudé Near Infrared Camera (CONICA) Precision narrow-angle astrometry and interferometric phase referenced imaging of faint objects (GRAVITY) Near Infrared Camera (LISA) Laser for the VLT laser guide star facility (PARSEC) Spectrometer for Infrared Faint Field Imaging (SPIFFI)

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Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST) The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is a high-energy Gamma-ray mission to identify and study Nature's highest energy particle accelerators. The LAT (Large Area Telescope) onboard Fermi operates in the energy range from 30 MeV to 300 GeV and has a factor of more than 30 improvement in sensitivity over the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) onboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). The MPE is involved in the scientific analysis of the LAT data. In addition to the LAT, a Gamma-ray burst monitor (GBM) is part of the satellite covering the energy range 10 keV to 30 MeV. This burst monitor was built in close cooperation with MPE. For more information please see the Fermi pages at NASA Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor pages at MPE

Satellite Launch June 11, 2008 End of Mission t.b.d. Status active in earth orbit MPE Participation Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM); scientific analysis of LAT data.

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GRAVITY GRAVITY is an adaptive optics assisted, near-infrared VLTI instrument for precision narrow-angle astrometry and interferometric phase referenced imaging of faint objects. The GRAVITY instrument will interferometrically combine near-infrared (NIR) light collected by the four telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. It will use adaptive optics at the telescope level and fringe tracking at the interferometer level. The use of infrared wavefront sensors enables one to observe highly obscured or dust embedded sources like the Galactic Center and young stellar objects at the highest sensitivity. In its astrometric mode, GRAVITY will allow to measure distances between the fringe tracking star and a science object to an accuracy of 10 µas. This will allow one to measure directly the on-sky motions of many objects in the field of view (2”) in a relatively short amount of time. At 100 pc, a velocity of 10 µas/yr corresponds to 5 m/s, at 1 Mpc to 50 km/s. With such a high precision astrometry it will be possible to watch how objects move in the local universe. GRAVITY is specifically designed to observe highly relativistic motions of matter close to the event horizon of Sgr A*, the massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. GRAVITY can also be operated in an imaging mode, yielding an unprecedented resolution of 4 mas in the NIR for objects that can be as faint as mK~20. The application of phase referenced imaging – instead of closure phases – is a major advantage in terms of model-independence and fiducial quality of interferometric maps with a sparse array such as the VLTI. Further information is available on the GRAVITY pages at MPE

MPE Participation Overall project and system lead (PI institute) Project management development of sub-systems, in particular beam stabilization, fiber coupler, metrology

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MPE Participation GROND was build by MPE in collaboration with LSW Tautenburg and ESO and is operated at the 2.2m MPG/ESO telescope La Silla

GROND Gamma-ray Burst Optical Near-IR Detector GROND is an imaging instrument to investigate Gamma-ray Burst Afterglows and other transients simultaneously in seven filter bands. Several dichroic beamsplitters feed light into three NIR channels and four visual channels, each equipped with its own detector. GROND is mounted at the MPI/ESO 2.2m telescope on La Silla (Chile), and is operational since 2007. For more information please see the Web pages of J. Greiner (MPE).

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HASTA H-Alpha Solar Telescope for Argentina For observations of the solar chromosphere the Telescope HASTA at the Estación Astronómica (2370 m) in El Leoncito, Argentina is used. The main telescope with a diameter of 10 cm and a focal length of 170 cm is equipped with a tunable Lyot filter and a CCD-camera. It is being used for observations of solar flares and eruptive prominences with high spatial (1.5") and temporal (3 s) resolution. A data link from the observatory via the University of San Juan and IAFE Buenos Aires into the INTERNET will be established, in order to make one solar H-alpha-image every 5 minutes available for space weather monitoring.

MPE Participation Instrument owned by MPE

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Satellite Launch May 14, 2009 End of Mission t.b.d. Status In transfer to Lagrangian point L2 MPE Participation detector development Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS)

Herschel Space Observatory (formerly FIRST) The Herschel Space Telescope (formerly called `Far InfraRed and Submillimetre Telescope' - FIRST) will perform photometry and spectroscopy in the 60-670 µm range. It has a radiatively cooled telescope and carries a science payload complement of three instruments housed inside a superfluid helium cryostat. It will be operated as an observatory for a minumum of three years following launch and transit into a an orbit around the Lagrangian point L2 in the year 2009. Herschel is cornerstone number 4 (CS4) in the European Space Agency (ESA) `Horizon 2000' science plan. It is implemented together with the Planck mission (selected as M3) as a single project. For more information please see the MPE detector development pages MPE PACS instrument pages ESA Herschel pages

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INTEGRAL International Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory INTEGRAL is the European Space Agency's key project in the field of Gamma-ray astronomy and high energy astrophysics. INTEGRAL is dedicated to fine Gamma-ray spectroscopy and accurate imaging of celestial sources in the energy band 15 keV to 10 MeV with concurrent source monitoring in the X-ray (3-35 keV) and optical (V-band, 550 nm) bands. INTEGRAL is a collaborative project by many research institutions. The MPE was responsible for the development of the anticoincidence subsystem of the spectrometer SPI. For more information please see the MPE INTEGRAL pages ESA INTEGRAL pages

Satellite Launch October 17, 2002 End of Mission > 2006 Status satellite on orbit MPE Participation SPI anticoincidence Data analysis center

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ISO Infrared Space Observatory The European Space Agency's (ESA) Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) is an astronomical satellite that was operational between November 1995 and May 1998. It operated at wavelengths from 2.5 to 240 microns, in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The satellite essentially consists of: a large liquid-helium cryostat; a telescope with a 60-cm diameter primary mirror; four scientific instruments and the service module. ISO was successfully launched by an Ariane 44P launcher from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, on 17 November 1995. Initially it was supposed to be operational for 20 months, but thanks to meticulous engineering and some good fortune the satellite's working life was stretched to more than 28 months: ISO unveiled the infrared universe until May 1998. For more information please see the MPE ISO SWS pages ESA ISO pages

Satellite Launch (Ariane 44P) November 17, 1995 End of Mission May 16, 1998 Status switched off; in orbit MPE Participation Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) ISO Spectrometer Data Centre ISO Spectral Analysis Package (ISAP) ISO-SWS Standard Software Packages ISO Post Mission Archive

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MPE Participation Science Workpackage Detector Procurement Data Reduction Software

KMOS Multi Integral Field Spectrograph for the VLT KMOS is a new cryogenic near infrared instrument which will combine the advantages of multiplexing with the power of integral field spectroscopy. A consortium of German and British institutes together with ESO develop KMOS as one of the so called second generation VLT instruments. It is planned to be operational in late 2010. The baseline concept is to have 24 integral field units (IFUs), each of which has 14x14 spatial elements providing a 2.8 arcsec field of view and can be positioned anywhere in the 7.2arcmin diameter unvignetted field of the VLT Nasmyth focus. There will be three identical spectrographs with a resolving power of about 3500 in the J, H, and K bands, each fed by 8 IFUs and equipped with a Hawaii 2RG array with 2K x 2K pixels. The cryostat is 2 m in diameter and 1.5 m high, and will be cooled to 77 K by three closed cycle coolers. For more information please see the KMOS pages at MPE

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MPE Participation NIR spectrograph (LUCIFER) LBT hardpoints

LBT Large Binocular Telescope The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is a twin 8.4 meter telescope being built on Mount Graham by a collaboration of institutes. The two primary mirrors are located on a common mount, providing either the capability of a single 11.8 meter telescope in terms of light gathering power (incoherent beam combination) or the resolving power of a 22.8 meter telescope when used interferometrically. MPE is directly involved with the design and construction of the facility NIR spectrograph for the LBT, LUCIFER. MPE's contribution is primarily directed toward the integral field unit and the multi object spectrograph unit. In addition, MPE is involved in the fabrication of the LBT hardpoints. The hardpoints are extremely stiff variable length actuators, six of which are used to control the position in space of each of the LBT primaries. For more information please see the LUCIFER and LBT pages at MPE LBT pages at the University of Arizona

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OPTIMA Optical Pulsar Timing Analyzer OPTIMA is a high-speed photoncounter which is used to measure (Gamma-ray) interesting objects, especially pulsars with high time resolution (10-6 s.) and high sensitivity. Meanwhile it is used to observe also other rapid variable objects (e.g. Cataclysmic Variables or Gamma Ray Burst afterglows) from observatories world wide. More information is available on the OPTIMA pages at MPE.

MPE participation The instrument was developed and built entirely at MPE and is continually improved.

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Instrument at the VLT MPE Participation: PARSEC is build at MPE

PARSEC Laser for the VLT PARSEC, a joint project by MPE (Garching) and MPIA (Heidelberg), is a sodium line laser which will produce a high quality 10W continuous wave output beam. At the end of 2004 it will be installed on Yepun, the fourth 8.2-m unit telescope of the VLT in Chile, as part of the Laser Guide Star Facility (LGSF). To equip the VLT with a LGSF, MPE and MPIA are working with ESO - who are responsible for the laser clean room, the beam relay, and the launch telescope. The aim of the LGSF is to substantially increase the sky coverage available to, and hence the scientific potential of, the adaptive optics cameras CONICA (with NAOS) and SPIFFI (as part of SINFONI). Additionally, the LGSF has been designed with the potential to be upgraded to project up to 5 laser guide stars, which are needed for multi-conjugate adaptive optics. For more information please see the MPE PARSEC pages

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PKE-Nefedov, PK-3 Plus, and PK-4 The Plasma Crystal Experiments, PKE-Nefedov, PK-3 Plus, and PK-4 are a collaboration of the Russian Institute for High Energy Densities (IHED) and our Institute. They are supported by the Russian and German Space Agencies (Roskosmos and DLR). PKE-Nefedov was the first basic science experiment onboard the International Space Station ISS. The experiment consisted of a small (0.5 l) chamber containing a radio frequency (RF) discharge Argon plasma. Into this plasma microparticles with a selectable diameter of about 3.4 or 6.8 µm were injected. The particles were illuminated by a thin layer of laser light and the movement of the particles was monitored with two CCD cameras. The data were stored onto video tapes. The investigation of plasma crystals especially, and of complex plasmas generally, is a new topic in the research under microgravity conditions. PKE-Nevedov was named in memoriam of Anatoli P. Nefedov. PK-3 Plus is the successor of PKE-Nefedov on the ISS since 2005, based on an improved version of the RF plasma chamber. PK-4, which shall also be operated on the ISS (preparation phase supported by DLR and ESA) is a complex plasma experiment using a DC discharge for investigating mainly the liquid phase. For more information please see the PKE-Nefedov, PK-3 Plus, PK-4 pages at MPE

Experiments on ISS   PKE-Nefedov Launch February 26, 2001 End of Mission July 27, 2005 Status deorbited PK-3 Plus Launch December 19, 2005 End of Mission t.b.d Status in orbit (ISS), taking data PKE-4 Launch 2009/2010 End of Mission t.b.d. Status in preparation (Phase A/B) MPE Participation The complete instruments are designed and built mainly at MPE; data analysis.

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Satellite Launch June 1, 1990 End of Mission February 12, 1999 Status switched off; in orbit MPE Participation Satellite Telescopes Detectors

ROSAT The ROSAT mission was governed by two scientific objectivies, the first all-sky survey with an imaging X-ray and EUV telescope and the detailed study of selected X-ray und EUV sources. As the primary objective ROSAT has performed the first all-sky survey with an imaging telescopes in a scan mode in the soft X-ray band of 0.1 keV - 2 keV (corresponding to wavelengths of 100 Ĺ - 6 Ĺ) as well as in the adjacent extreme ultraviolett region of 0.04 keV - 0.2 keV (corresponding to wavelengths of 300 Ĺ - 60 Ĺ). This part of the mission lasted half a year, and was completed in February 1991. Following the all-sky survey, ROSAT provided detailed observations of selected sources with respect to spatial structure, spectra and time variability. In this pointing mode the sensitivity has been at least two times larger than that of former missions. The location of the sources was determined with an accuracy of at least 10 arcsec. The successful observatory was switched off after gradual failures of critical components after more than four times it's expected life time. For more information please see the MPE ROSAT pages

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Rosetta The prime scientific objective of the Rosetta mission is to study the origin of comets, the relationship between cometary and interstellar material and its implications with regard to the origin of the Solar System. The International Rosetta Mission was approved in November 1993 by ESA's Science Programme Committee as the Planetary Cornerstone Mission in ESA's long-term space science programme. The mission goal was a rendezvous with comet 46 P/Wirtanen. Unfortunately problems with the Ariane 5 launcher resulted in a postponement of the mission, as the tight launch window was missed. During the ESA SPC meeting on 13-14th May 2003 it was decided to re-target Rosetta to Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Launch with Ariane-5 G+ was on March 2, 2004 and the final rendezvous with the new target comet is expected in November 2014. Rosetta will study the nucleus of a comet and its environment in great detail for a period of up to two years, with far-observation activities leading ultimately to close observation (from about one km distance) and in situ analysis of the nucleus material by a lander (RoLand). For more information please see the ESA Rosetta pages Rosetta pages at the MPI for Solar System Research (in German) Rosetta page of the mechanical engineering department at MPE (in German) DLR Rosetta pages (in German) ESA COSIMA pages

Satellite Launch (Ariane 5) March 2, 2004 Arrival at target November 2014 End of Mission t.b.d. MPE Participation Cometary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA) Rosetta Lander (RoLand)

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eROSITA extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array Together with the all-sky-monitor "LOBSTER" (GB) and the high-energy telescope "ART" (Ru), eROSITA will fly on the Russian satellite Spectrum-X-Gamma, which will be launched with a Soyus-2 rocket from Baikonur in 2012. The mission eROSITA should perform the first imaging all-sky survey in the medium energy X-ray range up to 10 keV with an unprecedented spectral and angular resolution. The nature of the mysterious Dark Energy that is driving the Universe apart is one of the most exciting questions facing astronomy and physics today. It may be the vacuum energy providing the Cosmological Constant in Einstein's theory of General Relativity, or it may be a time-varying energy field. The solution could require a fundamental revolution in physics. Clusters of galaxies are the largest collapsed objects in the Universe. Their formation and evolution is dominated by gravity, i.e. Dark Matter, while their large scale distribution and number density depends on the geometry of the Universe, i.e. Dark Energy. X-ray observations of clusters provide information on the rate of expansion of the Universe, the fraction of mass in visible matter and the amplitude of primordial fluctuations that are the origin of clusters of galaxies and the whole structure of the universe. The main scientific goals are to detect systematically all obscured accreting Black Holes in nearby galaxies and many (> 170000) new, distant active galactic nuclei, to detect the hot intergalactic medium of 50-100 thousand galaxy clusters and groups and hot gas in filaments between clusters to map out the large scale structure in the Universe for the study of cosmic structure evolution and to study in detail the physics of galactic X-ray source populations, like pre-main sequence stars supernova remnants and X-ray binaries. The telescope will consist of seven Wolter-1 mirror modules, similarly to ABRIXAS. However, each module will be extended to 54 nested mirror shells in order to meet the required sensitivity. A novel detector system has been developed by MPE on the basis of the successful XMM-Newton pn-CCD technology. For more information please see the eROSITA Mission Definition Document     (pdf; 5 MB) eROSITA Flyer     (2009; pdf; 466 kB; in German language) Preliminary response files are available for download: eRosita ftp

Satellite Launch 2012 End of Mission t.b.d. Status Phase A study MPE Participation detectors, telescope

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Satellite Launch July 3, 1992 End of Mission t.b.d. Status active MPE Participation Heavy Ion Large Area Proportional Counter (HILT)

SAMPEX Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer The four SAMPEX instruments are a complementary set of high resolution, high sensitivity, particle detectors used to conduct studies of solar, anomalous, galactic, and magnetospheric energetic particles. SAMPEX measures energetic electrons as well as ion composition of particle populations from ~0.4 MeV/nucleon to hundreds of MeV/nucleon from a zenith-oriented satellite in a near polar orbit (altitude 520 by 670 Km and 82 degrees inclination). A key part of SAMPEX is to use the magnetic field of the earth as an essential component of the measurement strategy. The Earth's field is used as a giant magnetic spectrometer to separate different energies and charge states of particles as SAMPEX executes its near polar orbit. For more information please see the SAMPEX pages at GSFC (NASA) SAMPEX Overview   (LASP)

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Airplane First Scientific Flight 2007 End of Mission t.b.d. Status first test flight on April 26, 2007 successful MPE Participation Field Imaging Far Infrared Line Spectrometer (FIFI-LS)

SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy NASA and the German space agency, DLR, are working together to create SOFIA - a Boeing 747-SP aircraft modified to accommodate a 2.5 meter reflecting telescope. SOFIA will be the largest airborne telescope in the world, and will make observations that are impossible for even the largest and highest of ground-based telescopes. The observatory is being developed and operated for NASA by a team of industry experts led by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). SOFIA will be based at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, California, and is expected to begin flying in the year 2007. SOFIA is part of NASA's Origins Program. For more information please see the MPE detector development pages MPE FIFI-LS pages SOFIA pages at DLR (in German) NASA SOFIA pages

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SOHO Solar and Heliospheric Observatory SOHO studies the internal structure of the Sun, its extensive outer atmosphere and the origin of the solar wind, the stream of highly ionized gas that blows continuously outward through the Solar System. SOHO helps to understand the interactions between the Sun and the Earth's environment, the Sun itself including the heating of the solar corona, the acceleration of the solar wind, and the physical conditions of the solar interior. That view of the Sun is achieved by operating SOHO from a permanent vantage point 1.5 million kilometers ahead of the Earth in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrangian point. CELIAS is the instrument on board SOHO where MPE is involved most. For more information please see the CELIAS home page at the University of Bern CELIAS / STOF data at MPE CELIAS Solar Wind data CELIAS UV data ESA SOHO pages NASA SOHO pages

Satellite Launch December 2, 1995 End of Mission t.b.d. Status active at L1 MPE Participation Charge, Element, and Isotope Analysis System (CELIAS)

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MPE Participation SPIFFI is build exclusively by MPE

SPIFFI SPectrometer for Infrared Faint Field Imaging SPIFFI is a fully cryogenic, near infrared, integral field spectrometer. Together with an adaptive optics system, build by ESO, it forms SINFONI (SINgle Faint Object Near-infrared Investigation), an adaptive optics assisted near infrared integral field spectrometer for the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. SINFONI was first mounted at the Cassegrain focus of Yepun UT4 in 2004. SPIFFI is the first instrument to provide integral field spectroscopic capabilities in the near infrared at ESO VLT. It takes 1024 spectra simultaneously, arranged in a 32x32 pixel format with a moderate spectral resolution between ~1000 and ~3300. The operating wavelength range is from 1.1 - 2.45 microns, covering the J, H and K windows. For more information please see the MPE SPIFFI pages

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Stardust Stardust has the primary goal to return to Earth samples of dust and volatiles from Comet P/Wild 2 and from interplanetary space. The Cometary and Interstellar Dust Analyzer (CIDA) is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for ions created at impact on a target. This instrument was not only be operated at the successful cometary flyby on January 2, 2004, but also during certain periods of the cruise phase, mainly with the aim to collect interstellar dust grains. Stardust was successfully launched on 7 February 1999 and on 22 February 1999 CIDA was first switched on. On 2 February 2004 Stardust rushed past comet Wild and it's return to Earth with the collected dust particles is scheduled for 15 January 2006. For more information please see the NASA Stardust pages

Satellite Launch (Delta II) February 7, 1999 End of Mission January 15, 2006 Status successful fly-by on January 2, 2004 MPE Participation Cometary and Interstellar Dust Analyzer (CIDA)

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Satellite Launch October 26, 2006 End of Mission nominal mission 2 years Status in heliocentric orbit MPE Participation PLasma and SupraThermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) sensor for the measurement of solar wind velocity, density and temperature and of the elemental and ionic charge composition of suprathermal ions (H-Fe) in the energy range 0.2 - 100 keV/e.

STEREO Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program. It was launched in October 2006 aboard a single Delta II 7925 launch vehicle. This mission will employ two nearly identical space-based observatories to provide the first-ever, 3-D stereoscopic images to study the nature of coronal mass ejections. Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are powerful eruptions that can blow up to 10 billion tons of the sun's atmosphere into interplanetary space. Traveling away from the sun at speeds of approximately 1000 km/s, CMEs can create major disturbances in the interplanetary medium and trigger severe magnetic storms when they collide with Earth. Large geomagnetic storms can cause electrical power outages and damage communications satellites. For more information please see the STEREO page at APL STEREO page at NASA PLASTIC home page at the University of New Hampshire

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Swift Swift is a first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of Gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the Gamma-ray, X-ray, optical, and ultraviolet wavebands. Swift, part of NASA's medium explorer (MIDEX) program, is being developed by an international collaboration. It was launched into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on November 20, 2004. During its nominal 2-year mission, Swift is expected to observe more than 200 bursts, which will represent the most comprehensive study of GRB afterglows to date. The main mission objectives for Swift are to: Determine the origin of Gamma-ray bursts. Classify Gamma-ray bursts and search for new types. Determine how the blastwave evolves and interacts with the surroundings. Use Gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe. Perform a sensitive survey of the sky in the hard X-ray band. For more information please see the NASA Swift pages pictures taken during the Swift telescope calibration at MPE Panter facility

Satellite Launch November 20, 2004 End of Mission 2+ years Status in Earth orbit MPE Participation calibration of the X-ray telescope, software development, burst advocates.

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Satellite Launch ...... End of Mission .... Status under study MPE Participation .... ..... ......

XEUS / IXO The X-Ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy Mission XEUS is a potential follow-on to ESA's Cornerstone X-Ray Spectroscopy Mission (XMM-NEWTON). XEUS will be a permanent space-borne X-ray observatory with a sensitivity comparable to the most advanced planned future observatories such as JWST, ALMA and Herschel. The mission is under study as envisaged by the ESA Horizons 2000 Survey Committee, who recommended "analysing the potential offered by a major high energy astrophysics facility within the Space Station Utilisation Programme". XEUS will be around 250 times more sensitive than XMM-NEWTON. The scientific goals include the study of the: First massive black holes. First galaxy groups and their evolution into the massive clusters observed today. Evolution of heavy element abundances. Intergalactic medium using absorption line spectroscopy. For more information please see the ESA XEUS pages

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Satellite Launch December 10, 1999 End of Mission t.b.d. Status aktive MPE Participation Telescope EPIC-Camera Survey Science Center

XMM - Newton High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Multi-Mirror Mission The XMM-Newton mission is the second of four cornerstone projects in the ESA long-term programme HORIZON 2000 for space science. The primary scientific objective of XMM-Newton is to perform high throughput spectroscopy of cosmic X-ray sources over a broad band of energies ranging from 0.1 keV to 10 keV. The XMM-Newton spacecraft payload includes three highly-nested grazing-incidence mirror modules of type Wolter I coupled to reflection grating spectrometers and X-ray charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras with resolving powers ranging from 10 up to 1000 as well as one small optical/UV telescope. The MPE has a main contribution on this mission (telescope development/test, EPIC-pn camera, and survey science center). For more information please see the MPE XMM-Newton pages ESA XMM-Newton pages