Design and Plans for a Wide-Field Imaging Interferometry Testbed

Future scientific observatories for NASA will utilize interferometry to image astronomical sources. Interferometry is particularly needed in the far-infrared and sub-millimeter because the long wavelength drives large baselines in order to achieve reasonable spatial resolution. However, the requirement to cover a wide field of view with interferometry has not been demonstrated. Because of this, we have been funded by NASA to develop a testbed for demonstrating wide field imaging interferometry that will also allow us to evaluate the system issues associated with this type of observatory. This paper will describe the drivers for this testbed, the design of this testbed, and the actual tests and algorithms we plan to run and demonstrate.