Coronagraph design survey

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems, vol. 12, pp. 1–27

Abstract

NASA is embarking on an ambitious program to develop the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) flagship to perform transformational astrophysics, as well as directly image ∼25 potentially Earth-like planets and spectroscopically characterize them for signs of life. This mission was recommended by the Astro2020 decadal survey, which additionally recommended a new approach for flagship formulation based on increasing the scope and depth of early, pre-phase A trades and technology maturation. A critical capability of the HWO mission is the suppression of starlight. To inform future architecture trades, it is necessary to survey a wide range of candidate technologies, from the relatively mature ones such as the ones described in the LUVOIR and HabEx reports to the relatively new and emerging ones, which may lead to breakthrough performance. We present a summary of an effort to survey potential coronagraph options for HWO. In particular, our results consist of (1) a database of different coronagraph designs sourced from the world-wide coronagraph community that are potentially compatible with HWO; (2) evaluation criteria, such as expected mission yields and feasibility of maturing to TRL 5 before phase A; (3) a unified modeling pipeline that processes the designs from (1) and outputs values for any machine-calculable criteria from (2); (4) assessments of maturity of designs, and other criteria that are not machine-calculable; and (5) findings and emerging trends and patterns (some of which overturn prior conventional wisdom). Although not charged to down-select or prioritize the different coronagraph designs, the products of this survey were designed to facilitate future HWO trade studies.

Authors 33

1. Ruslan Belikov

   Ames Research Center

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Ames Research Center

2. Christopher C. Stark

   Goddard Space Flight Center

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

3. Nick Siegler

   California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

4. Emiel H. Por

   Space Telescope Science Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Space Telescope Science Institute

5. Bertrand P. Mennesson

   Jet Propulsion Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

6. Susan F. Redmond

   California Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   California Institute of Technology

7. Pin Chen

   California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

8. Kevin Fogarty

   Ames Research Center

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Ames Research Center

9. Olivier Guyon

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Arizona

10. Roser Juanola-Parramon

    Goddard Space Flight Center

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

11. Jeremy Kasdin

    Princeton University

    Affiliation as printed

    Princeton University

12. John Krist

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

13. Dimitri P. Mawet

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

14. Rhonda M. Morgan

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

15. Camilo Mejia Prada

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

16. Laurent A. Pueyo

    Space Telescope Science Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Space Telescope Science Institute

17. Dan Sirbu

    Ames Research Center

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Ames Research Center

18. Eduardo A. Bendek

    Ames Research Center

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Ames Research Center

19. Karl R. Stapelfeldt

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

20. Armen Tokadjian

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

21. John Trauger

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

22. Neil T. Zimmerman

    Goddard Space Flight Center

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

23. David S. Doelman Aachen

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden University

24. Jessica A. Gersh-Range

    Princeton University

    Affiliation as printed

    Princeton University

25. Dwight Moody

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

26. A. J. Eldorado Riggs

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

27. Gene Serabyn

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

28. Frans Snik Aachen

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden University

29. James Kent Wallace

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

30. Brandon Dube

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

31. Jeffrey B. Jewell

    California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    Affiliation as printed

    California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

32. Rico Landman Aachen

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden University

33. Iva Laginja

    Observatoire de Paris

    Affiliation as printed

    Paris Observatory