Carbon Monoxide Surveyor using Monolithic Millimeter-wave Integrated Circuits (COSMMIC): A CubeSat Concept for a High Resolution All-Sky Survey of CO in the Milky Way
Abstract
We describe a mission concept to carry out a high spectral resolution all-sky survey of carbon monoxide in the Milky Way, using a CubeSat or small satellite in low earth orbit. The instrument employs a state-of-the-art low noise amplifier and digital spectrometer. Recent developments in CubeSats enable low cost missions for carrying out surveys of millimeter wavelength lines and in the future could enable submillimeter observations as well. The COSMMIC instrument will consist of Monolithic Millimeter-wave Integrated Circuit Low Noise Amplifiers (MMIC LNAs) integrated with ultra-low-mass and power CMOS spectrometers. We will target the CO 2-1 transition at 230 GHz. A modest aperture, high spectral resolution mission is required to determine the location and kinematics of the out-of-plane CO emission in the Milky Way. Observations carried out by the Planck satellite revealed the presence of large amounts of CO at high Galactic latitudes. These data had no velocity information so could not measure kinematics, mass motions or locate the gas. The COSMMIC observations will test the hypothesis that the Milky Way is accumulating significant mass from its environment. We will describe the key instrument-enabling technology, namely the high performance low noise amplifiers and mixers with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) state-of-the-art 35 nm gate length InP HEMT MMIC process technology and the high resolution CMOS spectrometer chip. We will discuss the angular and velocity resolution possible given the constraints of a typical CubeSat size, as well as what could be obtained with a small satellite platform. We will discuss tradeoffs in satellite size with angular resolution, sensitivity, and spectrometer performance, as well as the time required for a CubeSat mission.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23315711S