ESA'S SEARCH FOR ECTRA-SOLAR TERRESTRIAL PLANETS: MISSION UPDATE OF THE DARWIN PROJECT

摘要

A mission status is given for the Darwin project. The Infra Red Space Interferometer Darwin was studied, by the European Space Agency (ESA), at system level, between 1997 and 2000. The study, carried out by Alcatel space division in Cannes, France has focused on developing a system that could carry out two main scientific objectives: (1) The detection and characterisation of Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. (2) The imaging of astrophysical objects with unprecedented spatial resolution. The most challenging of these objectives consist of the recording of infrared spectra of Terrestrial exo-planets that could detect signs of biological activity at distances up to 20pc. In order to do this, the Darwin project is constructed around the new technique of 'nulling interferometry', which exploits the wave nature of light in order to extinguish the light from a bright object (the central star, the primary, in this case). At the same time the light from a nearby source (the planet) is enhanced. The contrast between planets and stars being the least in the infrared wavelength region, that has been chosen for this mission.