Joint Milli-Arcsecond Pathfinder Survey (JMAPS): Overview and Application to NWO Mission

Transcription

1 Joint Milli-Arcsecond Pathfinder Survey (JMAPS): Overview and Application to NWO Mission B.DorlandandR.Dudik USNavalObservatory 11March MissionOverview TheJointMilli ArcsecondPathfinderSurvey(JMAPS)missionisaDepartmentof Navy(DoN)space based,all skyastrometricbrightstarsurvey.jmapsiscurrently fundedforflight,withat2012launchdate.jmapswillproduceanall sky astrometric,photometricandspectroscopiccatalogcoveringthemagnituderangeof 1 12,withextendedresultsthrough15 th magnitudeatanaccuracyof1 milliarcsecond(mas)positionalaccuracyatameanobservingepochof approximately2013.usinghipparcosandtychopositionaldatafrom1991,proper motionswithaccuraciesof100microarcseconds(umas)peryearshouldbe achievableforallofthebrighteststars,withtheresultthatthecatalogwilldegrade atamuchreducedrateovertimewhencomparedwiththehipparcoscatalog. JMAPSwillaccomplishthiswitharelativelymodestaperture,veryhighaccuracy astrometrictelescopeflowninlowearthorbit(leo)aboardamicrosat.mission baselineisforathree yearmissionlife( )ina900kmsunsynchronous terminatororbit. 1

2 2 MissionStatus 2.1 ProgrammaticOverview WiththereleaseofProgramDecisionMemorandum III(PDM III)inNovember 2008,JMAPSisfullyfundedforflightthrough2015.Theresourcesponsoristhe OceanographeroftheNavy,withprimaryexecutionresponsibilitiesassignedtothe OfficeofNavalResearch(ONR).TheUSNavalObservatory(USNO)hasPrinciple Investigator(PI)anddataprocessingresponsibilities.TheNavalResearch Laboratory(NRL)hasresponsibilityforthespace,launch,groundstationand missionoperationscentersegments. 2.2 Schedule Basedonthecurrentfundingprofile,JMAPSisscheduledforSystem Requirements/SystemDesignreviewandPreliminaryDesignReviewincalendar year2009,preliminarydesignreviewin2010,criticaldesignandtechnology ReadinessReviewin2011,andlaunchinMarch,2012.Alltechnologieswillbeat TRL6bytheendofcalendaryear2009.Themissionwilloperatefrom ,withafinalastrometricandphotometriccatalogreleasein Outputproducts Therearetworelevantoutputproducts,ordeliverables,fromJMAPS:first,JMAPS willgenerateanastrometricandphotometricstarcatalog,accurateto1masor betterthrough12 th magnitude.second,jmapswillmature,demonstrateandfly attitudesensinginstrumentationthatisaccurateto5mas.inadditiontomaturing largeformatcmos HybridFPA,high stabilitysicoptics,andadvancedelectronics technology,jmapswilldemonstratetheabilitytobuildandoperate10 masclass attitudesensors,allby2012.thecatalog,technologyandinstrumentation demonstrationareallhighlyrelevanttofuturenasamissionssuchasnwo.inthe followingsections,wedescribeinstrumentdesigninmoredetail,anddiscusshow JMAPSmighthavedirectapplicationtoNWO. 4 Spacecraftoverview Asshowinfig.1,JMAPSisasingle instrumentspacecraftconsistingofthe instrumentdeployedonapayloaddeckthatisaffixedtothetopofthebus.the instrument/payloaddeckconsistsoftheopticaltelescopeassembly(ota),thefocal planeassembly(fpa),theinstrumentelectronics(i.e.,processorandmemory), thermalcontrolforthefpa,asunshield,andthecoarsestartracker.the instrumentcomponentoccupiesavolume16.2 (41.1cm)(h)x25.8 (65.5cm)x 24 (61.0cm)withamassof48kg,including25%margin. 2

3 +),-#$ #./0102/3$!"#$ %&#'(")*&'$ Figure1.JMAPSSpacecraft Thelowerportionofthespacecraftconsistsofthebus,whichsupportsthesolar panelsandhousesthepower,avionics,communications,primarythermalcontrol, reactionwheels,andinertialmeasurementunits(imus).thetotalmassofthe spacecraft,includingcontingency,isapproximately180kg.thespacecraftoccupies avolumeapproximately38 (96.5cm)(h)x28 (71cm)x24 (61cm). IntheJMAPSmissiondesign,theAttitudeDeterminationandControlSystem(ADCS) isintegratedbetweentheinstrumentandthebus.whileslewingorinacquisition mode,coarseattitudeinformationatthe1arcsecondlevelisgeneratedbythestar tracker.thisinformationiscombinedwithdatafromtheintertialreferenceunit (IRU)inthebusandprocessedwithtogeneratepointingknowledgeatorbelowthe 1masaccuracylevel.Duringstandardobservations,theprimaryinstrumentisused toobservereferencestarsandgenerateboresightpointingquaternionsatorbelow 10masinaccuracyat5Hz.The10masattitudesignalisusedbytheADCSsystem todrivethespacecraftpointing.usingasystemofreactionwheelsthespacecraft achievespointingcontrolandstabilityof50mas. TheprimaryrelevanceofthistotheNWOprogramisthattheJMAPSattitude determinationsubsystem thatis,thecomponentsofjmapsthatgenerate 3

4 quaternions arecontainedintheinstrument.thejmapsinstrumentcanbe separatedfromthebusand,inprinciple,usedonotherplatformsforveryhigh accuracyattitudedetermination.thisassumesthattherequisitethermaland powerconnectionsareavailable.theaccuracyofresultantattitudedetermination willbeafunctionofplatformconsiderationssuchasorbit,thermalstability, vibrationalstability,etc. 5 InstrumentDescription Figure2showsthelayoutoftheinstrumentonthepayload.Themajorcomponents areallshown,i.e.:theota,theieb,thestartrackerandthefparadiators.not shownarethesunshield(deployedontherearofthepayloaddecktoprotectthe OTAfromdirectexposuretothesun),thermalinsulationaroundtheOTA,theloop heatpipestructuretocarryheattotheradiators,orthestructureassociatedwith supportingtheradiators.alsonotvisibleisthefpa.thefpaiscontainedinside theota,locatedonthepayloaddeckinrelativelycloseproximitytotheieb.inthe followsubsections,additionaldetailsareprovidedaboutthemajorinstrument subsections.!"#$%&'()*+,&-.,./*0(.&#//.12,3&4'-#5&6789&:$#&;& #%<=&(+*>+?.@&AB@.CB.+89& -D=&C+@7+80C/& <B/8CA1.B8&D,.*8C0B7*/&E0F&4<DE5& -0(& -DG"#&%8+C&-C+*>.C&H&D,.*8C0B7*/& %7@.& :C0B8& Figure2JMAPSInstrument conceptualdesignofpayloaddeck. 4

5 The JMAPS instrument has been designed to meet a 5 mas single measurement systematic error floor, including both local (i.e., centroiding), differential (e.g., residual distortion), and detector error sources. The design and system engineering processes required to meet this specification are currently underway and include high fidelity thermal, vibrational, optical and focal plane modeling. Results of these design and analyses activities will be reported out at appropriate venues and publications. 5.1 Optical Telescope Assembly The high precision and repeatability of the required measurements necessitates an optical system with very low aberrations and very high stability. The JMAPS optical telescope is a 19 cm, f/20, on axis space astrograph designed for a residual aberration and distortion floor of below 5 mas. This is achieved through the use of Silicon Carbide (SiC) optics and metering structure for the powered optics, and through a thermal design that maximizes the thermal stability of the optical elements and structure. 5

6 TheOTAconsistsofaplane parallelentranceaperturewindow,madeoffusedsilica. Thiswindowprovidesbotharedbandcutoffatabout920nmaswellasmechanical supportform2,withminimalstraylighteffects.therearethreepoweredelements andfourfoldflatsthatareusedtocontainthe3.8meffectivefocallengthina volumethatisapproximately25 alongthelongaxis.thesystemincludesa rotatingfilterwheelwithfourpositions.thefirstpositionisawide openvisible band(~ nm),thesecondpositionistheprimaryastrometricbandpassblue cutoff(itpasseslight>700nm),thethirdisalowresolutionspectralgrating (R~15)usedforbasiccolorsensing,andthefourthisTBD. Thedesignresidualwavefronterror(WFE)iswellbelow0.05wavesat633nm, whiletheas builtwfeisbetween0.05and0.067wavesat633nm.residual centroidingerrorduetostatic(e.g.,psfundersampling)andvarying(e.g., thermally induceddefocus)sourcesoferrorwillnotexceed3masrms.residual distortionandothersourcesofdifferentialastrometryerrorduetobothstaticand varyingeffectswilllikewisebekeptbelow3mas.thesesourcesoferrorrollupto4 masfortheoptics inducedsingle measurementjmapssystematicfloor contribution. Figure4:(left)JMAPSInternalOpticalTelescopeAssembly(OTA)and(right)opticalraytrace 5.2 FocalPlaneAssembly ThebaselineJMAPSfocalplaneassembly(FPA)consistsofa2x2mosaicof TeledyneImagingSensor(TIS)H4RG 10sensorchipassemblies(SCAs),asshownin Figure5.TheH4RG 10isa4192x4192,10micronpixelCMOS HybridSCA.JMAPS willusetheb0,or3 rd generationdesignofthesca.thefirstgenerationsca(a1) hasbeenfabricatedandtestedatbothgoddardspaceflightcenter(gsfc)and USNOandreportedonintheliterature.USNOwilltakedeliveryofthesecond generationsca(a2)in2009andimmediatelybeginlaboratory,skyandradiation testingworkingwithbothgsfcandtheairforceresearchlaboratory(afrl).by 6

7 earlysummer,initialresultswillbeavailableforthea2design.atthispoint,thea2 designwillhaveachievedatrlof6. TheflightSCAswillbemountedonanintegratedFPAthatwillprovideelectric, thermalandmechanicalinterfacestothepackagedscas.thefpawillbecooledto atemperatureofapproximately193k,withastabilityspecificationof10mk.the FPAheatwillbedumpedtospaceusingdedicatedFPAradiatorsonthefront apertureandabovetheota(seefigure2). TheFPAisallocated3masofsystematicerrorforcentroidingmeasurements.This includestheeffectsofchargediffusion,intra andinter pixelquantumefficiency variations,hotpixels,inter pixelelectroniccross talk,andscamotion.these requirementsdrivetheperformancespecificationsfortheflightunitsaswellasthe thermalandmechanicalstabilityrequirementsonthefpa.fparequirementsand performancearecurrentlybeingvalidatedusinganumberoftools,includingahighfidelityfocalplanesimulator. Figure5:JMAPSFPA4K2X2MosaicConcept 5.3 ReadoutASICS ThebaselineJMAPSreadoutandFPAcontrolelectronicsaretheTISSIDECARASICS (seefigure6).jmapswillutilizeatotaloffourtooperatethefpa.thesidecars digitizethedatacomingoffthefpa,witha16 bitdepth.multipleoutput connectionswillbeusedtoreadoutthefpainapproximately1second.inaddition, forbothguidestarandbrightstarapplications,thesidecarswillreadoutsmaller windowsonthefpaathigherframerates.guidestar(approximately10starsper 7

8 fieldofview)windowswillbereadoutat5framespersecond(fps),whilebright star(<5 th magnitude)windowswillbereadoutatframeratesofupto200fps. Figure6:SidecarASIC 5.4 InstrumentElectronicsBox TheInstrumentElectronicsBox(IEB)housestheprimaryon boardprocessing systemfortheinstrumentandspacecraft.theiebcombinesthepowerconversion, mechanismandthermalcontrol,dataprocessinganddatastoragefunctions.the IEBreceivesfull framedatafromtheasics.cdsprocessingisperformedby differencingscienceobservationsfromtheresetreadoutframe.theprocessorthen stepsthroughtheimageanddetectsstars.foreachdetectedstar,a10x10pixel windowsisretainedandstoredinthesolidstatedatarecorder(ssdr)forlater downlinktotheground.attitudedeterminationcalculationsareperformedinthe IEB,andquaternionsaregeneratedtodrivetheADCS.Dataratesforthewindows aretypicallyabout5.6mbitsperminute.dataaredownlinkedtothegroundstation viatheon baordtransmitterduringregularpasses.onepassperdayoverthe groundstationissufficienttodownloadoneday sworthofastrometricdata. 5.5 IntegratedInstrumentConceptofOperationsandPredictedPerformance TheJMAPSinstrumentisoperatedinafashionsimilartostandardstartrackers.A starfieldisimaged inthecaseofjmaps,integrationtimesof1,4.5and20seconds areused individualstarpositionsarecalculated,andtheboresightpointing calculatedevery200msec.asdescribedintable1,theintegratedinstrumenthasa fieldofviewof1.24 x1.24.eachpixelsubtendsapproximately0.5secondsofarc. Theprimaryastrometricbandpassis nm,approximatelyequivalentto astrometriciband.thetypicalpointspreadfunction(psf)fullwidthathalf maximum(fwhm)is0.87arcseconds,forasamplingof1.6pixelsperfwhm. 8

9 Usingacombinationoffocalplaneandcentroidingmodelscombinedwithanalyses ofthepsfs,instrumentthroughput,etc.,wecanpredictcentroidingaccuracyfor singlemeasurementsasafunctionofibandmagnitude.theseresultsareshownin Figure7.Theresultsconsideronlythe bestcase foradiscreterangeofexposure times(0.01,0.2,1.0,4.5and20seconds).here,bestcaseisdefinedasthelongest, non saturatedexposuretime. TheADCSsystemusesthetenbrighteststarsonthefocalplanetocalculatea boresightattitudeata5hzrate.usingtypicalnumbersandi bandbrightnesses, boresightaccuraciesofbetterthan10masata5hzratecanbeachievedaccording tojmapsattitudedeterminationsimulationresults. Theinstrumentperformanceestimatesarebasedondetailedsimulationsofthe focalplane,optics,centroidingprocessandarealisticattitudedeterminationsystem simulator.theresultsincludeboththermalandvibrationseffects. Parameter Spec Units Optics Optical Aperture 19 cm Collecting Area cm^2 central obscuration 9 cm Focal length. 3.8 m Focal Ratio Optical Field of View (FOV) 1.24 square degrees Survival Temperature K Operating Temperature K Single Measure Instrument Error Floor 5 mas Mission Systematic Error Floor 0.5 mas Focal Plane Size of FPA (pixels) 8192 square pixels Size of FPA (mm) square mm Pixel size 10 um Pixel subtense arcseconds FPA Read noise 10 e- Mode of dark current distribution <1 e/s/pix Operating Temperature. 193 K Survival Temperature 180 K Temperature stability < 0.01 K Spectral Range nm Full Well e- Residual uncorrected detector effects < 3.5 mas Instrument Data Rate Per Day 93 kbits/sec Per Minute 5.6 Mbits/min Per Day 7.5 Gbits/day FPA Readout time! 1 seconds Digitization noise!10 e- Overall instrument read noise!14 e- Table1.Instrumentperformanceparameters(notional). 9

10 Figure7.SinglemeasurementprecisionpredictionsforJMAPSasafunctionofsouceI bandmagnitude. 6 NWO SpecificApplications 6.1 SimilaritiesandDifferencesbetweenbaselineJMAPSandNWO implementation Thedescriptionprovidedin 4and5refertothebaselineJMAPSmission.This missionwillflyinthe timeframe.By2013alltechnologyandconcepts willbedemonstratedattrl9andby2016afinalcatalogwillbereleasedwith stellarpositionsaccurateatthe1maslevel. Asnotedin 5,theinstrumentisessentiallyadiscretecomponentandcanbe thoughtofasanextremelyaccurateattitudesensor/startracker.asecondinstance oftheinstrumentcanbebuiltanddeployed,inprinciple,onotherplatforms. Assumingthepropermechanical,thermalandelectronicinterface,itcanthenserve asanextremelyaccuratestarsensor.ifflownafter2016,itwillalsobeabletotake advantageofthejmapsstarcatalog.basedonextensivecostmodelingusingboth thenasainstrumentmodel(developedbyjpl)andaerospacecorporation s ConceptDesignCenter,theinstrumentdevelopmentcostisestimatedatunder $40M($FY08).Asignificantportionofthisisnon recurringexpenses,soasecond unitwouldlikelycost$30morless.adoptinga$40mnot to exceedlimitwouldbea veryconservativeestimate,andwouldallowforsomemodificationstobemade basedonlessonslearnedwiththefirstunit. 10

11 ForpurposesoftheNWOanalysis,weassumethatasecondinstrumentisbuiltand deployedasstarsensoronboardthenwostarshade.theinstrumentwouldbe usedtonavigatethestarshadeduringthealignmentphaseoftheoccultation.the originalinstrumentisdesignedtosupport5massinglemeasurementaccuracyfora LEO classmission.mostofthesourcesofsystematicerrorarerelatedtovarying thermalconditionsovertheorbit.asimilarunitdeployedatl2wouldbeina significantlymorebenignthermalenvironment.assuch,wewouldexpectthe systematicerrorfloortobewellbelow5mas.forpurposesofthisanalysis, however,wewillcontinuetousethe5masvaluefromthebaselinemission.wewill continuetheanalysisforthel2caseandwillpublishtheseresultsinthe appropriateforumoncetheanalysisiscompleted. 6.2 Starshadealignment TheprimaryapplicationoftheJMAPSinstrumenttoNWOistosupportthe alignmentofthestarshade(seefigure8).theoverallprocessisdiscussedindetail elsewhereinthemainbodyofthenworeport;werestrictourdescriptionhereto thejmapscomponent.inthecaseofdisagreementbetweenthedescription presentedhereandthatpresentedelsewhereinthenworeport,thelattertakes precedenceoverthisone. Inordertosuppressthestarlightandrevealthereflectedlightfromtheexoplanets, thenwostarshadehastobeaccuratelymaneuveredinfrontofthetelescopeat distancesof50 100Megameters(50, ,000km).TheJMAPSinstrument willbedeployedonthestarshadeandorientedtowardsthetelescope.inorderto ensuretherequiredsignal,ani bandbeaconwithamaximumapparentmagnitude of12atthemaximumalignmentdistancewillbeaffixedtothetelescopeand directedatthestarshade. Figure8:IllustrationofNWOalignmentproblem 11

12 TheJMAPSinstrumentwillobservethetelescopebeaconagainstthebackground fieldofreferencestars.assumingatypicalbackgroundguidingsignalupdaterateof 0.1Hz,theJMAPSinstrumentwillaveragetheboresightpointingresultsover50 observations,andgenerateameanboresightmeasurementofaccuracy1mas. Ifweadopta10secondintegrationtime,wecancalculatethesinglemeasurement accuracyforindividual,stellar likesources.resultsarepresentedforthreetypical NWOrangesinTable2.ThenominalNWO12 th magnitudebeaconishighlightedin thetable.theconclusionisthattheinstrumentiscapableof8masposition determinationgivenatensecondexposure.whencombinedwiththeboresight accuracyof1masoverthesameperiod,alignmentaccuracies(1 σ)ofbetween2 and4metersareexpected(seethetable).theinstrumentwillperformboththe positionandboresightcalculationsinternallyandgenerateboresightandtelescope positionsforthestarshadespacecraftonceeverytenseconds. Increasedexposuretime,abrighterbeaconandareducedsystematicerrorfloor duetothemorebenignthermalenvironmentatl2woulddrivedowntheerror.in principle,alignmenterrorsof1metermaybepossible,butadditionalanalysis including detailedthermal simulation arerequiredto supportthis Magnitude SMP Range (megameters) (I band) (mas) tint = result. 12

13 Table2.PredictedsinglemeasurementaccuraciesforstellarsourcesovertypicalNWO ranges.resultsarepresentedinunitsofmeters. 6.3 Navigation AsecondaryapplicationofJMAPStoNWOisspacecraftnavigation.Asshownin Figure9,theJMAPSinstrumentcanbeusedtoobserveSolarsystemobjects.By combiningobservationsofmultipleobjects,thepositionoftheinstrumentwithin thesolarsystemcanbedetermined.thisisanalogoustoworkcurrentlybedonein thedepartmentofdefensewhichusesobjectsinorbitaroundtheearthto determinepositionsofsensorsinearth svicinity.inthiscase,weareusingmuch moredistantsolarsystemobjectstodeterminepositionwithinthesolarsystem. Aninitialfeasibilityanalysishasbeenperformed.Possibletargetsincludetheouter planets,theirsatellitesandminorplanets.keysourcesoferrorinclude:howto determine position forresolvedtargetssuchasthegasgiants,theerrors associatedwiththeephemeridesofoutersolarsystemobjects,thesignalsfor variouscandidatetargets,andtheeffectsofphotocentermotiononsub pixel centroiding.initialanalysisindicatesthatwithsufficientsignal,1/100 th pixel centroidingonquasi pointsourcessuchasasteroids,andfewaubaselines, positionswitherrorellipseaxesoforder50kmorlessarefeasible.moredetailed analysisisunderwaytorefineatargetlist,developanapproachforout of plane positionandassessaccuracieswithmorefidelity.wewilllikelyperformnavigation experimentswiththebaselinejmapsmissionwhileonorbitinordertodefinitively determinethefeasibilityofthisapproachforsolarsystemnavigation :28:33! 13

14 Figure9:Simulationofsolarsystemorbits.JMAPScanbeusedtodeterminethepositionoftheoccultor toaccuraciesof50kmorless. 7 Summary TheJMAPSmissionisafunded,DepartmentofNavyall skyastrometricand photometricsurveymissionscheduledforlaunchinthe2012timeframe.the missionwilldeliveranupdatedbrightstarcatalogby2016.themissionwill developandflyanewclassofastrometricinstrumentationthatwillsupport measurementofindividualstarpositionsatthe5maslevelandattitude determinationatthe10maslevelata5hzrate.theinstrument,describedindetail inthispaper,canbedeployedonotherplatformsandusedforbothboresight attitudedetermination(i.e.,attitudesensing)andindividualstarposition measurement(i.e.,startracking).initialanalysisindicatesthatthecatalogand technologycanbeappliedtothenwomissiontosupportbothalignmentofthe Starshadespacecraftatthe2 4maccuracylevelatdistancesofupto100Mm,and forsolarsystemnavigation,witherrorellipsesof50kmorless. 14

15 Appendix:LetterofEndorsementforJMAPSbyNWO University of Colorado at Boulder Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy 389 UCB Boulder, Colorado (303) Fax: (303) Dr. Fran Chiaramonte NASA DOD SERB Representative NASA Headquarters, Mailstop: 2M E ST SW Washington DC September 30, 2008 Dear Dr. Chiaramonte, This letter is written in strong endorsement of the Joint Milli-Arcsecond Pathfinder Survey (JMAPS) mission, which will lend critical support to the New Worlds Observer (NWO) mission through both scientific and engineering advancements. NWO is a potential NASA flagship mission that proposes to fly a large starshade in formation with a 4-meter telescope to search and directly detect Earth-mass planets around local stars. JMAPS is integral to this endeavor; providing both scientific foresight and engineering risk reduction that will guarantee and even extend the success of NWO and NASA missions like it. The crux of the NWO mission is controlled relative positioning of two spacecraft in alignment with the celestial sphere. For successful detection of Earth-sized planets around an occulted star, the 50-meter starshade and 4-meter telescope must be aligned to within 1-meter. Pointing accuracy within reasonable time frames is crucial to this requirement. Our analysis has shown that an extremely accurate astrometric telescope and supporting stellar catalog is required to align the occulter with the star shade. NWO has therefore baselined a JMAPS-derived instrument as the primary guide telescope for the starshade during the coarse and fine positioning phases of the formation flying. The unique design of the JMAPS instrument, combined with the significantly improved star catalog that will be collected during the primary JMAPS mission, will permit alignment of the two spacecraft to within 2.5m at 80,000km separation faster and more efficiently than any other instrument. In addition to its practical application as an NWO guide telescope, JMAPS will help lay the scientific foundation for future planetary exploratory missions, such as NWO and SIM. With a launch in the 2012 time frame and a baseline-lifetime of 3 years, JMAPS will compile candidate stellar hosts for Jupiter-sized planets. This catalog will supplement NWO auxiliary science goals and could serve to refine and extend the target lists of planetary-exploration missions. In addition, the primary JMAPS astrometric passband is ideally suited for planetary exploration around M-stars the largest population of stars in the Galaxy. It is well accepted that M-stars, though less massive then their earlier-type counterparts, are also likely hosts of complex planetary systems. However, previously 15

16 discounted as plausible hosts of habitable planets, there is now growing evidence that such planets can reside around M-stars. JMAPS is ideally suited to survey and catalog such stars during its lifetime. In addition, while not operating as an ancillary telescope to formation flying, the JMAPS instrument on board NWO will provide a wealth of auxiliary science data on such stellar systems. JMAPS observations of planets around candidate M- stars will provide astrometrically determined mass estimates and orbit determinations, thus characterizing these enigmatic systems and providing crucial information for a variety of future NASA planet hunting and characterization missions. Finally, JMAPS will also serve as an invaluable technological risk-reduction opportunity for NASA. The current, baseline detector for JMAPS is a large-format H8RG CMOShybrid focal plane array four times the size of the baseline JWST hybrid detectors. This detector is closely related to and derived from the H4RG CMOS-Hybrid FPA technology currently under development as part of John Mather s Innovative Partnership Project (IPP). The JMAPS detector in-flight performance will serve as a test bed for missions utilizing similar detector technologies. In addition JMAPS requirements have necessitated advances in high accuracy and high stability Silicon Carbide optics, advanced readout and processing electronics, and pointing stability at near HST-levels in a microsat. These developments will pave the way for future NASA missions where such advancements are crucial to the primary scientific goals. JMAPS is a critical scientific and technological component of the NWO mission. JMAPS will make scientific discoveries that will complement and extend our current archive of planetary research and pave the way for future larger-scale planet exploratory NASA missions. JMAPS will make advancements in detector, optics, and electronics technologies, providing an invaluable risk reduction opportunity both for NWO and for other integral NASA missions. For these reasons I urge you as NASA representative on the DOD SERB to strongly support the JMAPS mission during the upcoming DOD SERB. Sincerely Yours Webster Cash Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Principal Investigator, New Worlds Observer CC: DOD SERB, Col Stephen Hargis R. Dudik 16