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D. Lester (U Texas), D. J. Benford (GSFC), A. Blain (CalTech), M. Bradford, M. Dragovan, W. Langer (JPL), D. Leisawitz (GSFC), C. Lawrence (JPL), J. Mather, S. H. Moseley (GSFC), L. Mundy (U Maryland), G. Rieke (U Arizona), G. Stacey (Cornell), H. Yorke (JPL), E. Young (U Arizona)
SAFIR is a large (10m-class), cold (4-10K) space telescope for wavelengths between 20µm and 1mm. It will provide sensitivity of a factor of a hundred or more over that of SIRTF and Herschel, leveraging their capabilities and building on their scientific legacies. Covering this scientifically critical wavelength regime, it will complement the expected wavelength performance of the future flagship endeavors JWST and ALMA. This vision mission will probe the origin of stars and galaxies in the early universe, and explore the formation of solar systems around nearby young stars. Endorsed as a priority by the Decadal Study and successive OSS roadmaps, SAFIR represents a huge science need that is matched by promising and innovative technologies that will allow us to satisfy it. In exercising those technologies it will create the path for future infrared missions. Efforts are underway to refine the scientific goals of the mission, explore promising approaches for it's architecture, and sharpen understanding about remaining technological challenges that will recommend optimal strategic investments. We show how SAFIR responds to the scientific challenges in the OSS Strategic Plan, and how the observatory can be brought within technological reach.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://safir.jpl.nasa.gov. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: dfl@astro.as.utexas.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.