An integrated payload design for the Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO)

Swinyard, B.; Tinetti, Giovanna; Eccleston, Paul; Adriani, A.; Beaulieu, Jean-Philippe; Dávila, Tomás Belenguer; Bowles, Neil E.; Bryson, Ian; Foresto, V. Coudé du; Ferlet, Marc; Hartogh, P.; Lagage, Pierre-Olivier; Lim, T.; Malaguti, G.; López‐Morales, Mercedes; Micela, G.; Morgante, G.; Nørgaard-Nielsen, H. U.; Ollivier, M.; Pace, E.; Pascale, Enzo; Piccioni, G.; Zapata, Gonzalo Ramos; Réess, Jean-Michel; Ribas, I.; Sozzetti, A.; Tennyson, Jonathan; Tessenyi, Marcell; Swain, Mark R.; Winter, B.; Waldmann, I. P.; Wright, Gillian; Osorio, M. R. Zapatero; Coustenis, A.

doi:10.1117/12.924688

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The spectrometer consists of six channels grouped into four spectrometer modules as described in Swinyard et al 2012 [2] , Focardi et al 2012 [3] and summarized hereafter:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary study of the EChO data sampling and processing

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The EChO Payload is an integrated spectrometer with six different channels covering the spectral range from the visible up to the thermal infrared. A common Instrument Control Unit (ICU) implements all the instrument control and health monitoring functionalities as well as all the onboard science data processing. To implement an efficient design of the ICU on board software, separate analysis of the unit requirements are needed for the commanding and housekeeping collection as well as for the data acquisition, sampling and compression. In this work we present the results of the analysis carried out to optimize the EChO data acquisition and processing chain.The HgCdTe detectors used for EChO mission allow for non-destructive readout modes, such that the charge may be read without removing it after reading out. These modes can reduce the equivalent readout noise and the gain in signal to noise ratio can be computed using well known relations based on fundamental principles. In particular, we considered a multiaccumulation approach based on non-destructive reading of detector samples taken at equal time intervals. All detectors are periodically reset after a certain number of samples have been acquired and the length of the reset interval, as well as the number of samples and the sampling rate can be adapted to the brightness of the considered source.The estimation of the best set of parameters for the signal to noise ratio optimization and of the best sampling technique has been done by taking into account also the needs of mitigating the expected radiation effects on the acquired data. Cosmic rays can indeed be one of the major sources of data loss for a space observatory, and the studies made for the JWST mission allowed us to evaluate the actual need of the implementation of a dedicated deglitching procedure on board EChO.

show abstract

“…The spectrometer consists of six channels grouped into four spectrometer modules as described in Swinyard et al 2012 [2] , Focardi et al 2012 [3] and summarized hereafter:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary study of the EChO data sampling and processing

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Basically, and although a deeper description is presented elsewhere, [1] this instrument was subdivided into 4 channels: one visible module (0.4 or 0.6 to 2.47μm), which includes a fine guidance system (FGS) and a VIS spectrometer, a near infrared channel (SWiR, 2.45 to 5.45μm), a middle infrared channel (MWiR, 5.2-11.5μm), and a long wave infrared module (LWiR, 11.5-16μm). In addition, it contained a common set of optics (collimator and a set of dichroics) collimating and spectrally dividing the wavelength coverage and injecting the incoming light into the different channels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exoplanet atmospheres Characterization Observatory payload short-wave infrared channel: EChO SWiR

et al. 2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

EChO (Exoplanet atmospheres Characterization Observatory), a proposal for exoplanets exploration space mission, is considered the next step for planetary atmospheres characterization. It would be a dedicated observatory to uncover a large selected sample of planets spanning a wide range of masses (from gas giants to super-Earths) and orbital temperatures (from hot to habitable). All targets move around stars of spectral types F, G, K, and M. EChO would provide an unprecedented view of the atmospheres of planets in the solar neighbourhood.The consortium formed by various institutions of different countries proposed as ESA M3 an integrated spectrometer payload for EChO covering the wavelength interval 0.4 to 16 μm. This instrument is subdivided into 4 channels: a visible channel, which includes a fine guidance system (FGS) and a VIS spectrometer, a near infrared channel (SWiR), a middle infrared channel (MWiR), and a long wave infrared module (LWiR). In addition, it contains a common set of optics spectrally dividing the wavelength coverage and injecting the combined light of parent stars and their exoplanets into the different channels. The proposed payload meets all of the key performance requirements detailed in the ESA call for proposals as well as all scientific goals. EChO payload is based on different spectrometers covering the spectral range mentioned above. Among them, SWiR spectrometer would work from 2.45 microns to 5.45 microns. In this paper, the optical and mechanical designs of the SWiR channel instrument are reported on.

show abstract