The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) Technology Demonstration

Abstract

The Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will demonstrate the high-contrast technology necessary for visible-light exoplanet imaging and spectroscopy from space via direct imaging of Jupiter-size planets and debris disks. This in-space experience is a critical step toward future, larger missions targeted at direct imaging of Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. This paper presents an overview of the current instrument design and requirements, highlighting the critical hardware, algorithms, and operations being demonstrated. We also describe several exoplanet and circumstellar disk science cases enabled by these capabilities. A competitively selected Community Participation Program team will be an integral part of the technology demonstration and could perform additional CGI observations beyond the initial tech demo if the instrument performance warrants it.

arXiv commentSPIE Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2020: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 114431U (15 December 2020)

References in corpus (4)

• The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission Concept Study Final Report
• The LUVOIR Mission Concept Study Final Report
• ExoCat-1: The Nearby Stellar Systems Catalog for Exoplanet Imaging Missions
• Paving the Way to Future Missions: the Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Technology Demonstration

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