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Interstellar and Heliospheric Physics: Projects

Astrophysical Analyses of Interstellar Conditions
Astrophysical analyses of interstellar conditions and energy flow using far-IR to millimeter wave galaxy spectra from existing instrumentation (Herschel, Z-Spec)
BICEP
BICEP (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) is an experiment designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to unprecedented precision.
BICEP2 / Keck Array
BICEP2 and Keck Array follow BICEP and probe more deeply in the polarization of the CMB.
BICEP3
BICEP3 will provide the most sensitive map of the CMB & polarized foregrounds at 95 GHz at the spatial scales where the imprint of primordial Inflation may be found. It is supported by The Office of the Chief Scientist & Chief Technologist.
BLISS for SPICA
BLISS for SPICA is a US-built mid- to far-infrared spectrograph for the Japanese-led SPICA mission.
Cassini
A joint endeavor of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Cassini is a sophisticated robotic spacecraft orbiting the ringed planet and studying the Saturnian system in detail.
CuSPP+
The CuSPP CubeSat will study solar particles over Earth’s poles to provide space weather relevant observations through combined interplanetary energetic particle and suprathermal source population observations at high cadence.
Europa Clipper
NASA's Europa Clipper mission will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter's moon Europa to investigate whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life.
FIRS (Far Infrared Surveyor)
The Far Infrared Surveyor is a large cryogenic space telescope envisioned as a follow-on to the Spitzer Space Telescope (Spitzer) and the Herschel Space Observatory.
Herschel
The Herschel Space Observatory was a space-based telescope that studied the Universe in the light of the far-infrared and submillimeter portions of the spectrum.
INSPIRE
The Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In Relevant Environment (INSPIRE) project will demonstrate the revolutionary capability of deep space CubeSats by placing a nanospacecraft in Earth-escape orbit...
JWST - James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope, scheduled for launch in 2018.
Juno
Juno is in 53-day polar orbits, observing Jupiter in order to understand the planet's gross size and structural properties, as well as measuring its atmospheric composition, temperature and deep wind profiles.
Origins Space Telescope
Origins Space Telescope is a NASA study for an 8+ meter cryogenic telescope targeting the earliest heavy element and the formation of life-bearing planets.
Parker Solar Probe
Parker Solar Probe will study the streams of charged particles the Sun hurls into space from a vantage point where the processes that produce the solar wind actually occur.
Quantum capacitance detector (QCD)
detector development. The QCD is this most sensitive far-IR detector ever made, enabling space-borne spectroscopy at the zodiacal-light limit and now demonstrating far-IR photon counting.
SOFIA
SOFIA is the largest airborne observatory in the world; SOFIA's instruments - cameras, spectrometers, and photometers - operate in the near-, mid- and far-infrared wavelengths.
SPICA / SAFARI instrument development
is a cryogenic mid- to far-IR telescope concept led by ESA and JAXA with key US detector contributions to the SAFARI far-IR Spectrograph.
STEREO
STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program (STP).
Solar Probe Plus
Solar Probe Plus will study the streams of charged particles the Sun hurls into space from a vantage point where the processes that produce the solar wind actually occur.
Spitzer
The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility) was launched into space by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 25 August 2003.
SuperSpec
is a wideband millimeter-wave on-chip spectrometer a lithographically-patterned superconducting filterbank and kinetic inductance detectors.
TIME
TIME is an experiment to measure the carbon emission from the Universe’s oldest galaxies.
Z-Spec
is a novel millimeter-wave grating spectrometer for observing galaxies throughout cosmic time.