A submm-wave comet explorer for water isotopic composition measurements

Imran Mehdi; Paul von Allmen; Jacob Kooi; Mathieu Choukroun; Paul F. Goldsmith; Darren Hayton; Bruce Bumble; Pierre Echternach; Sabrina Feldman

doi:10.1117/12.2313041

24 July 2018 A submm-wave comet explorer for water isotopic composition measurements

Imran Mehdi, Paul von Allmen, Jacob Kooi, Mathieu Choukroun, Paul F. Goldsmith, Darren Hayton, Bruce Bumble, Pierre Echternach, Sabrina Feldman

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10698, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 106980F (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313041
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

Remote submm-wave spectrometers have the capability of providing statistically significant numbers of isotopic composition measurements within the budget constraints of available planetary missions. This talk will present a mission and instrument concept that would enable an accurate measurement of the D/H ratio on not one but several dozens of comets in a four-year mission lifetime. The instrument would utilize advanced cryogenic detectors that would allow us to measure the abundance of the para and ortho spin states of water and its isotopologues. State of the art superconducting heterodyne receivers have been developed that provide detection sensitivities approaching the quantum limit in the 500 GHz frequency range enabling the measurement of D/H ratio on around 50 comets from an observatory stationed for example at the thermally benign Lagrange point L2

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Imran Mehdi, Paul von Allmen, Jacob Kooi, Mathieu Choukroun, Paul F. Goldsmith, Darren Hayton, Bruce Bumble, Pierre Echternach, and Sabrina Feldman "A submm-wave comet explorer for water isotopic composition measurements", Proc. SPIE 10698, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2018: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 106980F (24 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313041

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