Study on planetary atmospheres and plasmas by a balloon-borne telescope
| Project/Area Number |
17540426
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Space and upper atmospheric physics
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| Research Institution | National Institute of Polar Research |
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Principal Investigator |
TAGUCHI Makoto National Institute of Polar Research, Division for Research and Education, Associate Professor, 研究教育系, 助教授 (70236404)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YOSHIDA Kazuya School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Professor, 大学院・工学研究科, 教授 (00191578)
NAKANISHI Hiroki School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Research Associate, 大学院工学研究科, 助手 (90361120)
TAKAHASHI Yukihiro School of Science, Tohoku University, Lecturer, 大学院・理学研究科, 講師 (50236329)
SAKANOI Takeshi School of Science, Tohoku University, Research Associate, 大学院・理学研究科, 助手 (80271857)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2006)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥1,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥2,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000)
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| Keywords | PLANETARY ATMOSPHERE / REMOTE SENSING / BALLOON EXPERIMENT / PLANETARY PLASMA / IMAGING |
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| Research Abstract |
This research has promoted the ongoing development of a balloon-borne telescope system for remote sensing of planetary atmospheres and plasmas. In this system, a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a 300-mm clear aperture is mounted on a gondola whose attitude is controlled by control moment gyros, an active decoupling motor, and a Sun sensor. The gondola can float in the stratosphere for periods in excess of 1 week. A pointing stability of 10 arcsec/sec will be achieved via the cooperative operation of the following three-stage pointing devices: a gondola-attitude control system, two-axis telescope gimbals for coarse guiding, and a tip/tilt mirror mount for guiding error correction. The tip/tilt mirror is controlled by a real-time correction signal from a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube. Video images of an object in near-infrared and ultraviolet are obtained by analog and digital CCD video cameras, respectively. Power is supplied by solar cell panels and Ni-MH batteries, of which low temperature characteristics have been tested. A pressurized cell contains two PCs, DC/DC converters, pre-amplifiers and a high-voltage power supply for a tip/tilt mirror mount. System performance under a low-temperature and low-pressure condition has been confirmed by a thermal vacuum test. ESRANGE in Kiruna, Sweden was investigated for a candidate launch site of a future experiment in the Arctic. The first target for the system is Venus. Wind vectors in the Venusian upper atmosphere will be derived from the tracking of cloud patterns observed in the ultraviolet and near-infrared regions. An experiment designed to test the system performance is scheduled to take place in Japan during June 2007, and a long-duration flight in the Arctic is scheduled for 2008.
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Report
(3 results)
Research Products
(15 results)
