Engineering topics
Tesch, Jonathan
Publications and source records attributed to Tesch, Jonathan.
Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) starshade-only architectures
The HabEx mission concept is intended to directly image planetary systems around nearby stars, and to perform a wide range of general astrophysics and solar system observations. The baseline HabEx design would use both a coronagraph and a starshade for exoplanet discovery and characterization. We describe a lower-cost alternative HabEx mission design, which would only use a starshade for exoplanet science. The starshade would provide excellent exoplanet science performance, but for a smaller number of detected exoplanets of all types, including exoEarth candidates, and a smaller fraction of exoplanets with measured orbits. The full suite of HabEx general astrophysics and solar-system science would be supported.
HabEx Lite: a Starshade-only Habitable Exoplanet Imager Alternative
The HabEx mission concept is intended to directly image planetary systems around nearby stars, and to perform a wide range of general astrophysics and solar system observations. Its main goal is the discovery and characterization of Earthlike exoplanets through high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy. The baseline HabEx concept would use both a coronagraph and a starshade for exoplanet science. We describe an alternative, “HabEx Lite” concept, which would use a starshade (only) for exoplanet science. The benefit is lower cost: by deleting the complex coronagraph instrument; by lowering observatory mass; by relaxing tolerances and stability requirements; by permitting use of a compact on-axis telescope design; by use of a smaller launch vehicle. The scientific penalty of this lower cost option is a smaller number of detected exoplanets of all types, including exoEarth candidates, and a smaller fraction of exoplanets with measured orbits. Our approach uses a non-deployed segmented primary mirror, whose manufacture is within current capabilities.