NASA - Astronomical and Cosmological Missions

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
"The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the astronomical research center responsible for operating the Hubble Space Telescope as an international observatory."

"The Hubble Space Telescope is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to operate a long-lived space-based observatory for the benefit of the international astronomical community."

"The STScI is the home of science program selection, grant administration, planning, scheduling, and public outreach activities for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). STScI provides data archive and distribution for all of NASA's optical/UV missions, including HST."

"STScI is also the science and operations center for the 6.5m James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)."

The Community Missions Office (CMO)
"CMO is the focal point for bringing the cumulative expertise and experience of STScI to other missions created by the science community. We broker partnerships between proposing mission teams and STScI personnel to tune relevant support for science operations, data archiving, grants administration, peer review, and education/outreach."

"Our philosophy is to integrate the scientific perspective into all aspects of missions to maximize the scientific return through cost effective application of our products, services and operations abilities."

"CMO also is responsible for developing tools and methods for STScI to communicate with our science community and our stakeholders. Also we support raising awareness of HST and STScI in our local region, and coordinate public communication with STScI's Office of Public Outreach." ... more

The Hubble Space Telescope
"The Hubble Space Telescope's launch in 1990 sped humanity to one of its greatest advances in that journey. Hubble is a telescope that orbits Earth. Its position above the atmosphere, which distorts and blocks the light that reaches our planet, gives it a view of the universe that typically far surpasses that of ground-based telescopes.

Hubble is one of NASA's most successful and long-lasting science missions. It has beamed hundreds of thousands of images back to Earth, shedding light on many of the great mysteries of astronomy. Its gaze has helped determine the age of the universe, the identity of quasars, and the existence of dark energy.

Hubble's discoveries have transformed the way scientists look at the universe. Its ability to show the universe in unprecedented detail has turned astronomical conjectures into concrete certainties. It has winnowed down the collection of theories about the universe even as it sparked new ones, clarifying the path for future astronomers." ... more

Hubble Space Telescopes links
Hubble at NASA GSFC - Hubble at NASA - Hubble at ESA

The Chandra X-ray Observatory
"The Chandra X-ray Observatory is part of NASA's fleet of "Great Observatories" along with the Hubble Space Telescope, the Spitizer Space Telescope and the now deorbited Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Chandra allows scientists from around the world to obtain X-ray images of exotic environments to help understand the structure and evolution of the universe. The Chandra X-ray Observatory program is managed by NASA's Marshall Center for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in Cambridge, Mass., is responsible for the conduct of the day-to-day flight operations and science activities from the Operations Control Center and Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) facilities. The CXC Web site is the primary resource for information on the Chanda X-ray Observatory mission"... more

Chandra and Astrophysics Web Links
X-Ray Astronomyat MSFC - Chandra at GSFC - HEASARC - Harvard - Chandra

The Spitzer Space Telescope
"The Spitzer Space Telescope is a space-borne, cryogenically-cooled infrared observatory capable of studying objects ranging from our Solar System to the distant reaches of the Universe. Spitzer is the final element in NASA's Great Observatories Program, and an important scientific and technical cornerstone of the Astronomical Search for Origins Program.

The Universe is continually radiating a wealth of information to Earth, sending signals in wide-spectrum of light. However, not all of these messages reach the ground. Because our planet's atmosphere blocks most radiation coming in from space, humans need to launch telescopes beyond it to get a complete cosmic picture.

Many of the Universe's messages are transmitted in infrared light, which our sky heavily filters. Infrared waves are too long for our eyes to see, but our nerves feel them as heat. In space, any object that has a temperature above zero Kelvin (- 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, or -273.15 degrees Celsius) radiates in the infrared.

The Spitzer Space Telescope Technology
The Spitzer Space Telescope is a technological marvel, featuring many innovations never before used on a space mission. It stands about 4 meters (13 feet) tall, and weighs approximately 865 kilograms (1,906 pounds).

Since Spitzer is designed to detect infrared radiation, or heat - its detectors and telescope must be cooled to only about 5 degrees above absolute zero (-450 degrees Fahrenheit, or -268 degrees Celsius). This will ensure that the observatory's "body heat" does not interfere with its observations of relatively cold cosmic objects."... more

Spitzer Web Links
IRAC - Infrared Array Camera on Spitzer - Cornell - Spitzer IRS - NASA Spitzer - JPL NASA Missions Spitzer

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (GLAST)
"The Universe is home to numerous exotic and beautiful phenomena, some of which can generate almost inconceivable amounts of energy. Supermassive black holes, merging neutron stars, streams of hot gas moving close to the speed of light ... these are but a few of the marvels that generate gamma-ray radiation, the most energetic form of radiation, billions of times more energetic than the type of light visible to our eyes. What is happening to produce this much energy? What happens to the surrounding environment near these phenomena? How will studying these energetic objects add to our understanding of the very nature of the Universe and how it behaves?

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly GLAST, is opening this high-energy world to exploration and helping us answer these questions. With Fermi, astronomers at long last have a superior tool to study how black holes, notorious for pulling matter in, can accelerate jets of gas outward at fantastic speeds. Physicists are able to study subatomic particles at energies far greater than those seen in ground-based particle accelerators. And cosmologists are gaining valuable information about the birth and early evolution of the Universe.

For this unique endeavor, one that brings together the astrophysics and particle physics communities, NASA has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Energy and institutions in France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Sweden. General Dynamics was chosen to build the spacecraft. Fermi was launched June 11, 2008 at 12:05 pm EDT." ... more

Fermi links
NASA Science: Fermi - Standford: Fermi - Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful explosions the Universe has seen since the Big Bang. They occur approximately once per day and are brief, but intense, flashes of gamma radiation. They come from all different directions of the sky and last from a few milliseconds to a few hundred seconds. So far scientists do not know what causes them. Do they signal the birth of a black hole in a massive stellar explosion? Are they the product of the collision of two neutron stars? Or is it some other exotic phenomenon that causes these bursts?

With Swift, a NASA mission with international participation, scientists have a tool dedicated to answering these questions and solving the gamma-ray burst mystery. Its three instruments give scientists the ability to scrutinize gamma-ray bursts like never before. Within seconds of detecting a burst, Swift relays its location to ground stations, allowing both ground-based and space-based telescopes around the world the opportunity to observe the burst's afterglow. Swift is part of NASA's medium explorer (MIDEX) program and was launched into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on November 20, 2004. " ... more

Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission links
Penn State University: Swift - NASA: Swift - CRPSM

International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL)
INTEGRAL, was launched in October 2002 aboard a Russian Proton rocket, and is providing a new insight into the most violent and exotic objects of the Universe, such as neutron stars, active galactic nuclei and supernovae. INTEGRAL is also helping us to understand processes such as the formation of new chemical elements and the mysterious gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. Environments of extreme temperature and density, near the event-horizons of black holes, are a major topic of study with INTEGRAL.

These studies are possible thanks to INTEGRAL's combination of fine spectroscopy and imaging of gamma-ray emissions in the energy range of 15 keV to 10 MeV (using the SPI and IBIS instruments) and concurrent monitoring in the X-ray band (4-35 keV) using JEM-X, and in the optical (500-600 nm) band, using the OMC.

A project of the European Space Agency INTEGRAL, serves an international Guest Observer community. Participation by U.S. astronomers was supported by a Guest Observer Facility (GOF) at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) from the mission start until October 2010. Since then, the mirroring of the European INTEGRAL Public Data Archive into the HEASARC has been continued by the HEASARC." ... more

Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) Mission Overview
The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is an Explorer mission that was managed by the Office of Space Science Mission and Payload Development Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACE launched on a McDonnell-Douglas Delta II 7920 launch vehicle on August 25, 1997 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Earth is constantly bombarded with a stream of accelerated particles arriving not only from the Sun, but also from interstellar and galactic sources. Study of these energetic particles contributes to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system as well as the astrophysical processes involved. The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft carrying six high-resolution sensors and three monitoring instruments samples low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles with a collecting power 10 to 1000 times greater than past experiments.

ACE orbits the L1 libration point which is a point of Earth-Sun gravitational equilibrium about 1.5 million km from Earth and 148.5 million km from the Sun. From its location at L1 ACE has a prime view of the solar wind, interplanetary magnetic field and higher energy particles accelerated by the Sun, as well as particles accelerated in the heliosphere and the galactic regions beyond.

ACE also provides near-real-time 24/7 continuous coverage of solar wind parameters and solar energetic particle intensities (space weather). When reporting space weather ACE provides an advance warning (about one hour) of geomagnetic storms that can overload power grids, disrupt communications on Earth, and present a hazard to astronauts.

The spacecraft has enough propellant on board to maintain an orbit at L1 until 2024." ... more

Space Observatories
Virtual Space Physics Observatory - Virtual Heliospheric Observatory - ACE RTSW - SPASE - VWO - VEPO

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer Overview
The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is an orbiting space telescope observing galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history. A Pegasus rocket launched GALEX into orbit at 8 a.m. EDT on April 28th, 2003. Although originally planned as a 29-month mission, the NASA Senior Review Panel in 2006 recommended that the mission lifetime be extended.

GALEX's observations are telling scientists how galaxies, the basic structures of our Universe, evolve and change. Additionally, GALEX observations are investigating the causes of star formation during a period when most of the stars and elements we see today had their origins.

Led by the California Institute of Technology, GALEX is conducting several first-of-a-kind sky surveys, including an extra-galactic (beyond our galaxy) ultraviolet all-sky survey. During its mission GALEX will produce the first comprehensive map of a Universe of galaxies under construction, bringing us closer to understanding how galaxies like our own Milky Way were formed.

GALEX is also identifying celestial objects for further study by ongoing and future missions and GALEX data now populates a large, unprecedented archive available to the entire astronomical community and to the general public.

Scientists would like to understand when the stars that we see today and the chemical elements that make up our Milky Way galaxy were formed. With its ultraviolet observations, GALEX is filling in one of the key pieces of this puzzle." ... more

GALEX Web Links
NASA Mission GALEX - NASA JPL GALEX

The Suzaku, formerly Astro-E2 Mission
Suzaku is Japan's fifth X-ray astronomy mission, and was developed at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA) in collaboration with U.S. (NASA/GSFC, MIT) and Japanese institutions. Suzaku covers the energy range 0.2 - 600 keV with the two instruments, X-ray CCDs (X-ray Imaging Spectrometer; XIS), and the hard X-ray detector (HXD). Suzaku also carries a third instrument, an X-ray micro-calorimeter (X-ray Spectrometer; XRS), but the XRS lost all its cryogen before routine scientific observations could begin.

The U.S. Suzaku Guest Observer Facility (GOF) is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The GOF is part of the Office of General Investigator Programs (OGIP) in the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD).

The primary responsibility of the U.S. Suzaku GOF is to enable U.S. astronomers to make the best use of the Suzaku mission. To fulfill this responsibility, the Suzaku GOF staff performs such activities as supporting the U.S. side of the Suzaku proposal selection process, distributing usable data to U.S. Guest Observers, helping Guest Observers to analyze their data, and creating the mission archive.

In addition to the tasks listed above, the U.S. Suzaku GOF activities include the development of software, the compilation and production of documentation for that software, and the provision of expert help. All of the U.S. Suzaku GOF's activities involve close collaboration with the Japanese Suzaku team." ... more

Suzaku, formerly Astro-E2 Mission links
Suzaku (NASA GSFC) - NASA missions: Suzaku - JAXA missions: Suzaku - Suzaku: X-ray Astronomy Group at ISAS

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
"The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) is a NASA Explorer mission that launched June 2001 to make fundamental measurements of cosmology -- the study of the properties of our universe as a whole. WMAP has been stunningly successful, producing our new Standard Model of Cosmology. WMAP's data stream has ended. Full analysis of the data will be completed in the remaining two years of the mission.

Latest Results (based on 7-years of WMAP Data in 2011 Publications)
          . The WMAP team has reported the first direct detection of pre-stellar helium, providing an important test of the big bang prediction.
          . WMAP now places 50% tighter limits on the standard model of cosmology than our previous 5-year WMAP results.
          . WMAP has detected a key signature of inflation.
          . WMAP strongly constrains dark energy and geometry of the universe.
          . WMAP places new constraints on the number of neutrino-like species in the early universe.
          . WMAP has detected, with very high significance, temperature shifts induced by hot gas in galaxy clusters.
          . WMAP has produced a visual demonstration of the polarization pattern around hot and cold spots" ... more

WMAP Web Links
CMB - WMAP Data Product

The X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM-Newton)
"XMM-Newton, the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is the second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 program of the European Space Agency (ESA). XMM-Newton was launched on December 10 1999 at 14:32 GMT (09:32 EST). The observatory consists of three coaligned high throughput 7.5m focal length telescopes with 6 arc second FWHM (15 arc second HPD) angular resolution.

Besides having funded elements of the XMM-Newton instrument package, NASA also provides the NASA Guest Observer Facility (GOF) at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The GOF provides a clearing house for project-generated technical information and analysis software as well as budget support for U.S. astronomers who apply for XMM-Newton observation time.

XMM-Newton images over a 30 arc minute field of view with moderate spectral resolution using the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC), which consists of two MOS and one PN CCD arrays. High-resolution spectral information (E/dE~300) is provided by the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) that deflects half of the beam on two of the X-ray telescopes. The observatory also has a coaligned 30 cm optical/UV telescope, the Optical Monitor (OM)." ... more

The X-ray Multi-Mirror (XMM-Newton) links
XMM-Newton Essentials at ESA - XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre - HEASARC - XMM-Newton Education and Public Outreach -

The Jawes Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
"The James Webb Space Telescope (sometimes called JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope. The project is working to a 2018 launch date. Webb will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy. Webb will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System. Webb's instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.

Webb will have a large mirror, 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in diameter and a sunshield the size of a tennis court. Both the mirror and sunshade won't fit onto the rocket fully open, so both will fold up and open once Webb is in outer space. Webb will reside in an orbit about 1.5 million km (1 million miles) from the Earth.

The James Webb Space Telescope was named after the NASA Administrator who crafted the Apollo program, and who was a staunch supporter of space science." ... more

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)
"The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a joint NASA-ESA project to develop and operate a space-based gravitational wave detector sensitive at frequencies between 0.03 mHz and 0.1 Hz. LISA detects gravitational-wave induced strains in space-time by measuring changes of the separation between fiducial masses in three spacecraft 5 million kilometers apart.

LISA will discover many extraordinary astrophysical sources: tens to hundreds of inspiraling and merging massive black hole binaries out to a redshift of z ~20; tens of stellar-mass compact objects spiraling into central massive black holes out to z ~1; more than ten thousand close, compact binaries in the Galaxy; a sky map of the background made by millions more; and possibly backgrounds of cosmological origins. The all-sky instrument will see thousands of sources in the first few months of operation. Astrophysical parameters, such as mass, spin and luminosity distance, of many sources will be measured with uncommon precision.

LISA will track more energetic inspirals for weeks to months, predicting progressively more accurate sky position and luminosity distance of the merger for electromagnetic observers. Owing to the revolutionary nature of gravitational wave detection, the numbers and types of LISA sources are somewhat uncertain. Fortunately, there are guaranteed sources, close white dwarf binaries known from electromagnetic observations, and many others that LISA should see in large numbers unless the Universe is radically different than electromagnetic observations have led us to believe. By virtue of opening a new spectrum, gravitational wave astronomy promises once-in-human-history discovery potential."... more

Lisa Project Links
Lisa at Caltech - LISC - NASA Missions LISA - eLISA/NGO

The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO)
"The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) is a sophisticated satellite observatory dedicated to observing the high-energy Universe. It is the second in NASA's program of orbiting "Great Observatories", following the Hubble Space Telescope. While Hubble's instruments operate at visible and ultraviolet wavelengths, Compton carries a collection of four instruments which together can detect an unprecedented broad range of high-energy radiation called gamma rays. These instruments are the Burst And Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), the Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE), the Imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL), and the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET).

These four instruments are much larger and more sensitive than any gamma-ray telescopes previously flown in space. The large size is necessary because the number of gamma-ray interactions that can be recorded is directly related to the mass of the detector. Since the number of gamma-ray photons from celestial sources is very small compared to the number of optical photons, large instruments are needed to detect a significant number of gamma rays in a reasonable amount of time. The combination of these instruments can detect photon energies from 20 thousand electron volts (20 keV) to more than 30 billion electron volts (30 GeV).

The table of instrument capabilities for the four experiments describes their fields of view, sensitivities to continuum and line emissions, and angular and energy resolutions. An appreciation of the purpose and design of Compton's four instruments is gained from understanding that above the energies of X-ray photons (~10 keV - about 10,000 times the energy of optical photons) materials cannot easily refract or reflect the incoming radiation to form a picture. Hence, alternative methods are required to collect gamma-ray photons and thereby image sources in the sky. At gamma-ray energies, three methods are currently used, sometimes in combination: (1) partial or total absorption of the gamma ray's energy within a high-density medium, such as a large crystal of sodium iodide, (2) collimation using heavy absorbing material, to block out most of the sky and realize a small field of view, and (3) at sufficiently high energies, utilization of the conversion process from gamma rays to electron-positron pairs in a spark chamber, which leaves a telltale directional signature of the incoming photon." ... more

The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was the second of NASA's Great Observatories. Compton, at 17 tons, was the heaviest astrophysical payload ever flown at the time of its launch on April 5, 1991 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Compton was safely deorbited and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on June 4, 2000.

The Astrophysics Science Division
"The Astrophysics Science Division supports the GSFC astrophysics projects by providing scientific leadership and undertakes a research program to achieve NASA's strategic science goals. The key questions addressed by the Divisions research programs include:
          . How do galaxies, stars, and planetary systems form and evolve?
          . What is the diversity of worlds beyond our solar system?
          . Which planets might harbor life?
          . What powered the big bang?
          . What is Dark Energy?
          . What happens to space, time and matter at the edge of a black hole?
          . What are the cycles of matter & energy in the evolving universe?

To do this the division conducts a broad program of research in the realm of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Fundamental Physics. This is the study, by way of photons, particles, and gravitational waves, of processes in cosmic sites and the physics processes operating therein. These involve complimentary studies using sub-mm, infra-red, optical, uv, x-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths, gravitational waves, and energetic charged particles. The division scientists develop theoretical models of the origin and structure of astrophysical objects and processes, design experimental approaches and hardware to test these theories, and interpret and evaluate data gathered from the experiments, archive and disseminate the data, provide expert user support to the community, publish conclusions drawn there-from, and undertake education and public outreach programs centered on the Divisions science missions."... more