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The Debris Disk Explorer: A Balloon-Borne Coronagraph for Observing Debris DisksThe Debris Disk Explorer (DDX) is a proposed balloon-borne investigation of debris disks around nearby stars. Debris disks are analogs of the Asteroid Belt (mainly rocky) and Kuiper Belt (mainly icy) in our Solar System. DDX will measure the size, shape, brightness, and color of tens of disks. These measurements will enable us to place the Solar System in context. By imaging debris disks around nearby stars, DDX will reveal the presence of perturbing planets via their influence on disk structure, and explore the physics and history of debris disks by characterizing the size and composition of disk dust. The DDX instrument is a 0.75-m diameter off-axis telescope and a coronagraph carried by a stratospheric balloon. DDX will take high-resolution, multi-wavelength images of the debris disks around tens of nearby stars. Two flights are planned; an overnight test flight within the United States followed by a month-long science flight launched from New Zealand. The long flight will fully explore the set of known debris disks accessible only to DDX. It will achieve a raw contrast of 10(exp -7), with a processed contrast of 10(exp -8). A technology benefit of DDX is that operation in the near-space environment will raise the Technology Readiness Level of internal coronagraphs, deformable mirrors, and wavefront sensing and control, all potentially needed for a future space-based telescope for high-contrast exoplanet imaging.
Document ID
20150008033
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Roberts, Lewis C. Jr
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Bryden, Geoffrey
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Traub, Wesley
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Unwin, Stephen
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Trauger, John
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Krist, John
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Aldrich, Jack
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Brugarolas, Paul
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Stapelfeldt, Karl
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Wyatt, Mark
(Cambridge Univ. Cambridge, United Kingdom)
Stuchlik, David
(NASA Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Island, VA, United States)
Lanzi, James
(NASA Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Island, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
May 12, 2015
Publication Date
August 25, 2013
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Meeting Information
Meeting: SPIE Optics and Photonics
Location: San Diego, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: August 25, 2013
End Date: August 29, 2013
Sponsors: International Society for Optical Engineering
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
High Altitude Balloon
Coronagraph
High Contrast Imaging

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