Related papers: Overview of the SIM PlanetQuest Light (SIM-Lite) m…
The ESPRI project relies on the astrometric capabilities offered by the PRIMA facility of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer for the discovery and study of planetary systems. Our survey consists of obtaining high-precision astrometry…
Sub-diffraction resolution, gentle sample illumination, and the possibility to image in multiple colors make Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) an imaging technique which is particularly well suited for live cell observations. Here,…
Measuring the orbits of directly-imaged exoplanets requires precise astrometry at the milliarcsec level over long periods of time due to their wide separation to the stars ($\gtrsim$10 au) and long orbital period ($\gtrsim$20 yr). To reach…
A next-generation medium-energy gamma-ray telescope targeting the MeV range would address open questions in astrophysics regarding how extreme conditions accelerate cosmic-ray particles, produce relativistic jet outflows, and more. One…
The concept for space interferometry from Polar or Equatorial Circular Medium Earth Orbits (the PECMEO concept) is a promising way to acquire the image of the "shadow" of the event horizon of Sagittarius A* with an angular resolution of…
The NEAT (Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope) mission is a proposal submitted to ESA for its 2010 call for M-size mission within the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 plan. The main scientific goal of the NEAT mission is to detect and characterize…
We propose to develop a wide-field and ultra-high-precision photometric survey mission, temporarily named "Earth 2.0 (ET)". This mission is designed to measure, for the first time, the occurrence rate and the orbital distributions of…
This paper describes outstanding issues in astrophysics and cosmology that can be solved by astronomical observations in a broad spectral range from far infrared to millimeter wavelengths. The discussed problems related to the formation of…
We describe the design, performance and scientific objectives of the NASA-funded ALICE instrument aboard the ESA Rosetta asteroid flyby/comet rendezvous mission. ALICE is a lightweight, low-power, and low-cost imaging spectrograph optimized…
LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of five ESA M3 candidate missions. It will address the Cosmic Vision theme: "Matter under Extreme Conditions". By coupling for the first time a huge collecting area for the detection of…
The South Pole Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (SPIFI) is the first instrument of its kind -- a direct-detection imaging spectrometer for astronomy in the submillimeter band. SPIFI's focal plane is a square array of 25 silicon bolometers…
This study presents a comprehensive system analysis for an instrument onboard the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), designed for high-precision, high-accuracy differential astrometry, with the primary scientific goal to determine the mass…
HERMES is a scientific mission composed of 3U nano-satellites dedicated to the detection and localization of high-energy astrophysical transients, with a distributed space architecture to form a constellation in Earth orbits. The space…
PILOT (the Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope) is a proposed 2.5 m optical/infrared telescope to be located at Dome C on the Antarctic plateau. The atmospheric conditions at Dome C deliver a high sensitivity, high…
Mega-constellations in Low Earth Orbit have the potential to revolutionise worldwide internet access. The concomitant potential of these mega-constellations to impact space sustainability, however, has prompted concern from space actors as…
GrailQuest (Gamma-ray Astronomy International Laboratory for Quantum Exploration of Space-Time) is an ambitious astrophysical mission concept that uses a fleet of small satellites whose main objective is to search for a dispersion law for…
High precision astrometry aims at source position determination to a very small fraction of the diffraction image size, in high SNR regime. One of the key limitations to such goal is the optical response variation of the telescope over a…
This paper discusses new Fundamental physics experiment that will test relativistic gravity at the accuracy better than the effects of the second order in the gravitational field strength, ~G^2. The Laser Astrometric Test Of Relativity…
I argue that there is a crisis in optical Astronomy due to a paucity of telescopes and thus the need for a paradigm shift in telescope technology. Large increases in collecting areas and observing time/astronomer are only possible if we…
We introduce a new method of searching for and characterizing extra-solar planets. We show that by monitoring the center-of-light motion of microlensing alerts using the next generation of high precision astrometric instruments the…