The specific objectives are:
• Determine the constituents and life cycle of interstellar gas in the Milky
Way.
• Witness the formation and destruction of star forming clouds.
• Understand the dynamics and gas flow to and in the Galactic
Center.
• Understand the interplay between star formation, stellar winds and radiation, and the structure of the interstellar medium in the satellite galaxy
known as the Large Magellanic Cloud.
• Construct Milky Way and LMC templates for comparison with distant
galaxies.
GUSTO is a NASA Explorer Mission of Opportunity led by Principal Investigator
Dr. Christopher Walker of the University of Arizona. It is to develop a Terahertz
observatory and balloon-borne platform for conducting a spectroscopic survey
of the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud to investigate the composition, energetics and dynamics of the interstellar medium. The University of
Arizona is to provide the 0.9 m aperture telescope and instrument, which will
incorporate an array of 3 × 8 cryogenic Terahertz superconducting heterodyne
receivers built by a collaboration involving Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Arizona State University, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space
Research, Ball Aerospace and Virginia Diodes. The Applied Physics Laboratory
of Johns Hopkins University is to provide the gondola and its avionics, guidance
and control, and power systems, and it will also provide day-to-day project management and systems engineering.
GUSTO will launch from McMurdo in Antarctica. It is designed to remain
aloft for 100 days or more by utilizing the 100 day flight potential of the new
SPB of the NASA Balloon Program Office. During the flight, the mission will
measure THz emission from important interstellar lines of carbon, nitrogen
and oxygen at 158, 63, and 205 microns respectively, spread throughout the
Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. GUSTO will provide the first
complete study of the life cycle of the interstellar medium that comprises the
gas and dust from which stars and planets are formed. The development will
exploit the flight heritage from the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory
(STO), the Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS),
and other previous balloon missions.
The GUSTO package includes the 0.9 m telescope, cryogenic THz receivers,
and a gyro stabilized pointing system to provide an unparalleled galactic/extragalactic survey capability.
168 Scientific Flight Types
• Determine the constituents and life cycle of interstellar gas in the Milky
Way.
• Witness the formation and destruction of star forming clouds.
• Understand the dynamics and gas flow to and in the Galactic
Center.
• Understand the interplay between star formation, stellar winds and radiation, and the structure of the interstellar medium in the satellite galaxy
known as the Large Magellanic Cloud.
• Construct Milky Way and LMC templates for comparison with distant
galaxies.
GUSTO is a NASA Explorer Mission of Opportunity led by Principal Investigator
Dr. Christopher Walker of the University of Arizona. It is to develop a Terahertz
observatory and balloon-borne platform for conducting a spectroscopic survey
of the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud to investigate the composition, energetics and dynamics of the interstellar medium. The University of
Arizona is to provide the 0.9 m aperture telescope and instrument, which will
incorporate an array of 3 × 8 cryogenic Terahertz superconducting heterodyne
receivers built by a collaboration involving Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Arizona State University, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space
Research, Ball Aerospace and Virginia Diodes. The Applied Physics Laboratory
of Johns Hopkins University is to provide the gondola and its avionics, guidance
and control, and power systems, and it will also provide day-to-day project management and systems engineering.
GUSTO will launch from McMurdo in Antarctica. It is designed to remain
aloft for 100 days or more by utilizing the 100 day flight potential of the new
SPB of the NASA Balloon Program Office. During the flight, the mission will
measure THz emission from important interstellar lines of carbon, nitrogen
and oxygen at 158, 63, and 205 microns respectively, spread throughout the
Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. GUSTO will provide the first
complete study of the life cycle of the interstellar medium that comprises the
gas and dust from which stars and planets are formed. The development will
exploit the flight heritage from the Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory
(STO), the Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS),
and other previous balloon missions.
The GUSTO package includes the 0.9 m telescope, cryogenic THz receivers,
and a gyro stabilized pointing system to provide an unparalleled galactic/extragalactic survey capability.
168 Scientific Flight Types