2. SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy
E.E. Becklin
SOFIA Chief Scientist
Astrobiology Workshop
Jan 07, 2009

3. Outline of Material Overview of SOFIA Progress to Date
Astrobiology Science

4. OVERVIEW

5. Overview of SOFIA
SOFIA is 2.5 m telescope in a modified B747SP aircraft
Optical-mm performance
Can obtain obscured IR ( m), most important
Joint Program between the US (80%) and Germany (20%)
First Science 2009 (NASA, DLR, USRA, DSI)
Designed for 20 year lifetime

6. Overview of SOFIA (Cont)
Operating altitude
39,000 to 45,000 feet (12 to 14 km)
Above > 99% of obscuring water vapor
World Wide Deployments
Ramp up to ~1000 science hours per year
Build on KAO Heritage with improvements (Facility Inst., Science Support)
Science flights to originate from Palmdale ….Aircraft operation by NASA Dryden Research Center (DFRC)
Science Center is located at NASA Ames Research Center

7. SOFIA — The Observatory
open cavity (door not shown)
Educators work station
pressure bulkhead
scientist stations, telescope and instrument control, etc.
TELESCOPE
scientific instrument (1 of 9)

8. Why SOFIA?
Infrared transmission in the Stratosphere very good: Average >80% from 1 to 1000 microns
Instrumentation:
wide complement, interchangeable, state-of-art
Mobility: anywhere, anytime
Long lifetime
Outstanding platform to train future instrumentalist

9. PROGRESS TO DATE

10. Major Physical Installations Completed
Main Deck, Looking Aft at Instrument Interface
Telescope Installed

11. SOFIA in the Palmdale Hanger

12. SOFIA’s Instrument Complement
As an airborne mission, SOFIA supports a unique, expandable instrument suite
SOFIA covers the full IR range with imagers and low to high resolution spectrographs
5 instruments at Initial Operations; 9 instruments at Full Operations.
SOFIA will take fully advantage of improvements in instrument technology. There will be one new instrument or major upgrade each year.

13. Four First Light Instruments
Working/complete HIPO instrument
in Waco on SOFIA
during Aug 2004
Working/complete FLITECAM instrument at
Lick in 2004/5
Working FORCAST instrument at Palomar in 2005
Successful lab demonstration of GREAT in July 2005

14. Astrobiology Science

15. Science Capabilities
Because of large aperture and better detectors, sensitivity for imaging and spectroscopy similar to the space observatory ISO but with higher spectral and angular resolution.
8x8 arcmin Field of View allows use of very large detector arrays
Image size is diffraction-limited beyond 25 µm, making it 3 times sharper than the space observatory Spitzer at these wavelengths

16. Planetary Atmospheres
SOFIA will determine the Methane on Mars
The ground-based infrared spectrum of Mars is dominated by broad lines in the Earth atmosphere. A weak feature on the wing of the strong terrestrial methane line may be the Doppler-shifted methane line in the Mars atmosphere.
If true, the methane abundance is high and may reflect biogenic activity.
EXES working at 7.6 microns in the Stratosphere will be able to see directly the Doppler-shifted methane line on Mars
How much methane is on Mars?
Does it show biogenic activity? What are the spatial and seasonal variability?
The near-infrared groundbased spectrum of Mars (left panel) is dominated by strong absorption bands in the earth atmosphere. The much weaker lines due to molecules in the atmosphere of Mars are displaced due to the Doppler effect and are indicated by a +. The right panel shows a blow up of a portion of the terrestrial methane line. The wiggle on this line may indicate the Martian methane line.

17. How does the chemistry of disks vary with radius?
High spectral resolution can determine where species reside in the disk;
small radii produce double-peaked, wider lines.
Observing many sources at different ages in this way will trace the disk
chemical evolution 17

18. SOFIA is Well-matched to Astrochemistry18

19. SEARCHING FOR LARGE CARBON RINGS
Do Large Carbon Rings form in the Interstellar Medium?
Lab studies show that moderate resolution (R= ) spectroscopy from m is a key to finding the large carbon molecules. (Large PAH) Discovery might be possible with an advanced instrument on SOFIA that works over the entire wavelength range.
High resolution follow up using GREAT & CASIMIR can resolve P-Q-R branch structure of lowest vibrational transitions 19

20. Summary
SOFIA will be one of the primary facilities for far-IR and sub-millimeter astronomy for many years

21. Back-up

22. .3-1.1 µm High Speed Occultation Camera FLITECAM**/ McLean
Instrument/ PI
Instrument Type
Location
HIPO/Lowell
Dunham
µm High Speed Occultation Camera
FLITECAM**/
McLean
1-5.5 µm Infrared Camera and IR channel for HIPO
UCLA
FORCAST**/
Faint Object Infrared Camera. Simultaneous Dual channel
Herter
Cornell
observations (5-25 µm & µm)
GREAT/MPI-
Hi resolution (R> 106) Heterodyne Spectrometer
Güsten
Bonn
3 bands THz; THz; 4.7 THz
FIFI-LS**/
Dual Channel ( µm ; µm)
Poglitsch
MPI Garching
Grating Spectrometer
HAWC**/
High Angular resolution 4 channel
Harper
UChicago
50 µm, 100 µm, 160 µm, 200 µm
CASIMIR/
Hi resolution (R~ 106) Heterodyne Spectrometer 6
Zmuidzinas
Caltech
GHz
EXES/UTexas
Lacy
5-28 µm-High resolution grating spectrometer (R>100,000)
SAFIRE/GSFC
Moseley
Fabry-Perot Spectrometer µm (2000<R<104)
** Facility Instruments