Dark Energy and Exoplanets

Wed 29th Jan 2020 @12:00 PM, level 7 Conference Room, David Caro Building
Dr James D Rhodes NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Email: jason.d.rhodes@jpl.nasa.gov

Abstract

The top recommendation for a large space mission in the US 2010 Decadal Survey was the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). Similarities in hardware requirements between proposed dark energy, exoplanet microlensing, and near infrared surveyor missions allowed for a single mission that would accomplish all three goals. The gift of an existing 2.4 meter telescope to NASA by another US government agency allowed for the addition of a coronagraph that will take images and spectra of nearby exoplanets; this instrument will be a technological stepping stone to imaging other Earths in the 2030s. I will give an overview of WFIRST’s proposed instrumentation, science goals, and implementation plan.