G. Ramos

Liquid-crystal variable retarders for aerospace polarimetry applications

We present the optical effects of different tests that simulate the aerospace environment on the liquid-crystal variable retarders (LCVRs) used in the Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment postfocal instrument of the SUNRISE payload within the NASA Long Duration Balloon program. Analysis of the influence of vacuum, temperature, vibration, and gamma and ultraviolet radiation is performed by measuring the effects of these tests on the optical retardance, the response time, the wavefront distortion, and the transmittance, including some in situ measurements. Outgassing measurements of the different parts of the LCVRs are also shown. From the results obtained it can be concluded that these optical devices are suitable and seem to be excellent candidates for aerospace platforms.

The imaging magnetograph eXperiment for the SUNRISE balloon Antarctica project

The SUNRISE balloon project is a high-resolution mission to study solar magnetic fields able to resolve the critical scale of 100 km in the solar photosphere, or about one photon mean free path. The Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment (IMaX) is one of the three instruments that will fly in the balloon and will receive light from the 1m aperture telescope of the mission. IMaX should take advantage of the 15 days of uninterrupted solar observations and the exceptional resolution to help clarifying our understanding of the small-scale magnetic concentrations that pervade the solar surface. For this, IMaX should act as a diffraction limited imager able to carry out spectroscopic analysis with resolutions in the 50.000-100.000 range and capable to perform polarization measurements. The solutions adopted by the project to achieve all these three demanding goals are explained in this article. They include the use of Liquid Crystal Variable Retarders for the polarization modulation, one LiNbO3 etalon in double pass and two modern CCD detectors that allow for the application of phase diversity techniques by slightly changing the focus of one of the CCDs.

ExoMars Raman Laser Spectrometer Overview

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of the Pasteur Payload instruments, within the ESAs Aurora Exploration Programme, ExoMars mission. The RLS Instrument will perform Raman spectroscopy on crushed powered samples deposited on a small container after crushing the cores obtained by the Rovers drill system. This is the first time that a Raman spectrometer will be launched in an out planetary mission. The Instrument will be accommodated and operate inside the Rovers ALD (Analytical Laboratory Drawer), complying with COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) Planetary Protection requirements. The RLS Instrument is composed by the following units: SPU (Spectrometer Unit); iOH: (Internal Optical Head); ICEU (Instrument Control and Excitation Unit). Other instrument units are EH (Electrical Harness), OH (Optical Harness) and RLS SW On-Board.

Detailed design of the imaging magnetograph experiment (IMaX): a visible imager magnetograph for the Sunrise mission

In this work, it is described the Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment, IMaX, one of the three postfocal instruments of the Sunrise mission. The Sunrise project consists on a stratospheric balloon with a 1 m aperture telescope, which will fly from the Antarctica within the NASA Long Duration Balloon Program. IMaX will provide vector magnetograms of the solar surface with a spatial resolution of 70 m. This data is relevant for understanding how the magnetic fields emerge in the solar surface, how they couple the photospheric base with the million degrees of temperature of the solar corona and which are the processes that are responsible of the generation of such an immense temperatures. To meet this goal IMaX should work as a high sensitivity polarimeter, high resolution spectrometer and a near diffraction limited imager. Liquid Crystal Variable Retarders will be used as polarization modulators taking advantage of the optical retardation induced by application of low electric fields and avoiding mechanical mechanisms. Therefore, the interest of these devices for aerospace applications is envisaged. The spectral resolution required will be achieved by using a LiNbO3 Fabry-Perot etalon in double pass configuration as spectral filter before the two CCDs detectors. As well phase-diversity techniques will be implemented in order to improve the image quality. Nowadays, IMaX project is in the detailed design phase before fabrication, integration, assembly and verification. This paper briefly describes the current status of the instrument and the technical solutions developed to fulfil the scientific requirements.

ExoMars Raman laser spectrometer breadboard: detector design and performance

The Raman Laser Spectrometer is scheduled for launch on board the ESA ExoMars mission in 2018. Its purpose is to perform analysis of the Raman signal scattered from crushed core samples retrieved from up to 2m below the Martian surface. In support of this activity an RLS breadboard instrument has been assembled whose focal plane incorporates an inverted mode CCD cooled to between -10°C and -40°C. The thermal, mechanical and detector design of this elegant breadboard instrument focal plane is described, and the system performance is evaluated in terms of the noise characteristics and dynamic range.

Atmosphere and telescope simulator for new adaptive optics methods development

The IACAT (IAC Atmosphere and Telescope) Simulator is an Optical Ground Support Equipment which simulates atmospheric turbulence and reproduces the performance of three very different telescopes: GTC and WHT, located at the Observatorio Del Roque de los Muchachos in La Palma (Canary Islands), and OGS which is located at the Observatorio Del Teide in Tenerife (Canary Islands). Its mission is to provide Scientists with the same measurement conditions as the real telescope but in a friendly laboratory environment, to assist in the development of new adaptive optics methods based on FPGAs. The most important telescope characteristics are simulated, such as f number, pupil size and position, magnification, central obscuration, etc. Up to 13 stellar objects can be created, individually or as binary stars with specific angular separations down to miliarcseconds. For the atmosphere simulation, it allows the creation of three different turbulence layers concurrently with different altitude and wind speed ranges.

ExoMars Raman laser spectrometer breadboard overview

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of the Pasteur Payload instruments, within the ESAs Aurora Exploration Programme, ExoMars mission. The RLS Instrument will perform Raman spectroscopy on crushed powdered samples deposited on a small container after crushing the cores obtained by the Rovers drill system. In response to ESA requirements for delta-PDR to be held in mid 2012, an instrument BB programme has been developed, by RLS Assembly Integration and Verification (AIV) Team to achieve the Technology Readiness level 5 (TRL5), during last 2010 and whole 2011. Currently RLS instrument is being developed pending its CoDR (Conceptual Design Revision) with ESA, in October 2011. It is planned to have a fully operative breadboard, conformed from different unit and sub-units breadboards that would demonstrate the end-to-end performance of the flight representative units by 2011 Q4.

Lithium niobate Fabry-Perot etalons in double-pass configuration for spectral filtering in the visible imager magnetograph IMaX for the SUNRISE mission

The Imaging MAgnetograph eXperiment, IMaX, is one of the three postfocal instruments of the Sunrise mission. The Sunrise project consists of a stratospheric balloon with a 1 m aperture telescope, which will fly from the Antarctica within the NASA Long Duration Balloon Program. IMaX should work as a diffraction limited imager and it should be capable to carry out polarization measurements and spectroscopic analysis with high resolution (50.000-100.000 range). The spectral resolution required will be achieved by using a LiNbO3 (z-cut) Fabry-Perot etalon in double pass configuration as spectral filter. Up to our knowledge, few works in the literature describe the associated problems of using these devices in an imager instrument (roughness, off-normal incidence, polarization sensitivity...). Because of that, an extensive and detailed analysis of etalon has been carried out. Special attention has been taken in order to determine the wavefront transmission error produced by the imperfections of a real etalon in double pass configuration working in collimated beam. Different theoretical models, numeric simulations and experimental data are analysed and compared obtaining a complete description of the etalon response.

Cryogenic filter wheel design for an infrared instrument

In the last two decades, Spain has built up a strong IR community which has successfully contributed to space instruments, reaching Co-PI level in the SPICA mission (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics). Under the SPICA mission, INTA, focused on the SAFARI instrument requirements but highly adaptable to other missions has designed a cryogenic low dissipation filter wheel with six positions, taking as starting point the past experience of the team with the OSIRIS instrument (ROSETTA mission) filter wheels and adapting the design to work at cryogenic temperatures. One of the main goals of the mechanism is to use as much as possible commercial components and test them at cryogenic temperature. This paper is focused on the design of the filter wheel, including the material selection for each of the main components of the mechanism, the design of elastic mount for the filter assembly, a positioner device designed to provide positional accuracy and repeatability to the filter, allowing the locking of the position without dissipation. In order to know the position of the wheel on every moment a position sensor based on a Hall sensor was developed. A series of cryogenic tests have been performed in order to validate the material configuration selected, the ball bearing lubrication and the selection of the motor. A stepper motor characterization campaign was performed including heat dissipation measurements. The result is a six position filter wheel highly adaptable to different configurations and motors using commercial components. The mechanism was successfully tested at INTA facilities at 20K at breadboard level.

A new spectrometer concept for Mars exploration

The Raman Laser Spectrometer instrument is included in ExoMars program Pasteur payload and it is focused on the Mars samples analytical analysis of the geochemistry content and elemental composition of the observed crushed samples obtained by the Rover. One of the most critical Units of the RLS is the Spectrometer unit (SPU) that performs Raman spectroscopy technique and operates in a very demanding environment (operative temperature: from -40 ºC to 6 ºC) with very restrictive design constraints. It is a very small optical instrument capable to cope with 0.09 nm/pixel of resolution. The selected solution is based on a single transmisive holographic grating. At this stage of the project SPU Team is preparing the Conceptual Design Review that will take place at the end of October 2011.