The GUSTO balloon mission

The Galactic/Extra-Galactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) is a NASA Explorer Mission of Opportunity mission led by PI Christopher Walker of the University of Arizona. The project goal is to develop a Terahertz observatory and balloon-borne platform for conducting a spectroscopic survey of the Milky Way (MW) and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) to determine the composition energetics and dynamics of the Interstellar Medium (ISM).

The University of Arizona will provide the GUSTO 0.9-m aperture telescope and instrument, which will incorporate an array of 3x8 cryogenic Terahertz superconducting heterodyne receivers built in a collaborative effort with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Arizona State University, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Virginia Diodes (VDI), and Ball Aerospace. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) will provide the gondola and all subsystems: Avionics, Guidance and Control, and Power. JHU/APL will also provide day-to-day project management, and mission systems engineering.

GUSTO will launch from McMurdo Antarctica in December 2021 and is designed to stay aloft for 75 days or more by utilizing the Ultra Long Duration capability offered by the Super Pressure Balloon (SPB), developed by NASA's Balloon Program Office (BPO). During the flight the mission will measure velocity resolved THz spectral line emission from three important fine structure transitions: [CII], [OI], and [NII] at 158, 63, and 205 mm, respectively, throughout the Milky Way and the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud. Through observations of these key tracers of different phase of the interstellar medium (ISM), GUSTO will provide the first complete study of the life cycle of the ISM, the gas and dust from which stars and planets are formed.

GUSTO will employ a development approach that uses substantial flight heritage from the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO) and the Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS) and other prior balloon missions, combined with new development to facilitate the GUSTO mission on the Super Pressure Balloon

We will present a summary of the GUSTO mission and the latest development updates.