Conference proceeding
The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE): A dedicated cubesat mission for the study of exoplanetary mass loss and magnetic fields
UV, X-RAY, AND GAMMA-RAY SPACE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY XX, Vol.10397, pp.103971A-103971A-11
Proceedings of SPIE
01/01/2017
DOI: 10.1117/12.2276138
Abstract
The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a near-UV (2550 - 3300 angstrom) 6U cubesat mission designed to monitor transiting hot Jupiters to quantify their atmospheric mass loss and magnetic fields. CUTE will probe both atomic (Mg and Fe) and molecular (OH) lines for evidence of enhanced transit absorption, and to search for evidence of early ingress due to bow shocks ahead of the planet's orbital motion. As a dedicated mission, CUTE will observe greater than or similar to 60 spectroscopic transits of hot Jupiters over a nominal seven month mission. This represents the equivalent of > 700 orbits of the only other instrument capable of these measurements, the Hubble Space Telescope. CUTE efficiently utilizes the available cubesat volume by means of an innovative optical design to achieve a projected effective area of similar to 22 cm(2), low instrumental background, and a spectral resolving power of R similar to 3000 over the entire science bandpass. These performance characteristics enable CUTE to discern a transit depth of less than or similar to 1% in individual spectral absorption lines. We present the CUTE optical and mechanical design, a summary of the science motivation and expected results, and an overview of the projected fabrication, calibration and launch timeline.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE): A dedicated cubesat mission for the study of exoplanetary mass loss and magnetic fields
- Creators
- Brian T. Fleming - University of Colorado SystemKevin France - Univ Colorado, Lab Atmospher & Space Phys, Boulder, CO 80309 USANicholas Nell - University of Colorado BoulderRichard Kohnert - University of Colorado SystemKelsey Pool - University of Colorado SystemArika Egan - University of Colorado SystemLuca Fossati - Austrian Academy of SciencesTommi Koskinen - University of ArizonaAline A. Vidotto - Trinity College DublinKeri Hoadley - University of Colorado SystemJean-Michel Desert - University of Colorado SystemMatthew Beasley - Planetary Science InstitutePascal Petit - Université de Toulouse
- Contributors
- O H Siegmund (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Publication Details
- UV, X-RAY, AND GAMMA-RAY SPACE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY XX, Vol.10397, pp.103971A-103971A-11
- Series
- Proceedings of SPIE
- DOI
- 10.1117/12.2276138
- ISSN
- 0277-786X
- eISSN
- 1996-756X
- Publisher
- Spie-Int Soc Optical Engineering
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- NNX17AI84G / NASA; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2017
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984428833202771
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