LOUPE: Observing Earth from the Moon to prepare for detecting life on Earth-like exoplanets

Abstract

LOUPE, the Lunar Observatory for Unresolved Polarimetry of the Earth, is a small, robust spectro-polarimeter with a mission to observe the Earth as an exoplanet. Detecting Earth-like planets in stellar habitable zones is one of the key challenges of modern exoplanetary science. Characterising such planets and searching for traces of life requires the direct detection of their signals. LOUPE provides unique spectral flux and polarisation data of sunlight reflected by the Earth, the only planet known to harbor life. This data will be used to test numerical codes to predict signals of Earth-like exoplanets, to test algorithms that retrieve planet properties, and to fine-tune the design and observational strategies of future space observatories. From the Moon, LOUPE will continuously see the entire Earth, enabling it to monitor the signal changes due to the planet's daily rotation, weather patterns, and seasons, across all phase angles. Here, we present both the science case and the technology behind LOUPE's instrumental and mission design.

13 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Royal Society Philosophical Transactions A. Corrected typos in v2

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Cited by in corpus (5)

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• Effect of multiple scattering on the Transmission spectra and the Polarization phase curves for Earth-like Exoplanets
• Astronomy from the Moon: From Exoplanets to Cosmology in Visible Light and Beyond
• Ocean signatures in the total flux and polarization spectra of Earth-like exoplanets
• Searching for technosignatures in exoplanetary systems with current and future missions