Speaker
Giorgio Cambiè
(University of Rome Tor Vergata)
Description
The Mini-EUSO telescope is designed to observe the UV emission of the Earth from the vantage point of the International Space Station in low Earth orbit.
Mini-EUSO will map the earth in the UV range (300 - 400 nm) offering the opportunity to study a variety of atmospheric events such as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) and meteors, as well as searching for strange quark matter and bioluminescence.
The instrument comprises a compact telescope with a large field of view (±22°), based on an optical system employing two Fresnel lenses for increased light collection. The light is focused onto an array of 36 multi-anode photomultiplier tubes and the resulting signal is converted into digital, processed and stored via the electronics subsystems on-board.
In addition to the main detector sensible in the UV range (300 - 400 nm), Mini-EUSO contains two ancillary cameras for complementary measurements in the near infrared (1500 - 1600 nm) and visible (400 - 780 nm) range.
The integration of the instrument, currently underway at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, is at an advanced stage in order to be compliant with a launch opportunity in the early 2019.
The on ground test results will be presented.
Primary author
Giorgio Cambiè
(University of Rome Tor Vergata)
Co-author
Laura Marcelli
(ROMA2)