The read-out shutter unit of the Euclid VIS instrument

Abstract

Euclid is the second medium-size mission (M2) of the ESA Cosmic Vision Program, currently scheduled for a launch in 2020. The two instruments on-board Euclid, VIS and NISP, will provide key measurements to investigate the nature of dark energy, advancing our knowledge on cosmology. We present in this contribution the development and manufacturing status of the VIS Read-out Shutter Unit, whose main function is to prevent direct light from falling onto the VIS CCDs during the read-out of the scientific exposures and to allow the dark-current/bias calibrations of the instrument.