ESA joins forces with Japan on new infrared sky surveyor (Forwarded)

European Space Agency
Press Release No. 05-2006
Paris France 22 February 2006

ESA joins forces with Japan on new infrared sky surveyor

A high-capability new infrared satellite, ASTRO-F, was successfully
launched last night by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In a
collaborative effort involving ESA and scientists across Europe, the
spacecraft is now being prepared to start its mapping of the cosmos.

Orbiting the Earth, ASTRO-F (to be renamed Akari ("light") now that it is
in orbit) will make an unprecedented study of the sky in infrared light,
to reveal the distant phenomena hidden from our eyes that tell the story
of the formation and evolution processes taking place in the universe.

Prof. David Southwood, ESA's Director of Science, said: "The successful
launch of ASTRO-F (Akari) is a big step. A decade ago, our Infrared Space
Observatory (ISO) opened up this field of astronomy, and the Japanese took
part then. It is wonderful to be cooperating again with Japan in this
discipline."

"Our involvement with the Japanese in this programme responds to our
long-term commitment in infrared astronomy, whose potential for discovery
is huge. We are now off and rolling with ASTRO-F/Akari, but we are also
working extremely hard towards the launch of the next-generation infrared
telescope, ESA's Herschel spacecraft, which will go up in the next two
years," he continued.

"This will still not be the end of the story. Infrared astronomy is also a
fundamental part of the future vision for ESA's space research, as
outlined in the 'Cosmic Vision 2015-2025' programme. The truth is,
subjects such as the formation of stars and exoplanets, or the evolution
of the early universe, are themes at the very core of our programme."

The mission

On 21 February, at 22:28 Central European Time, (22 February, 06:28 local
time [2128 UTC February 21]), a Japanese M-V rocket blasted off from the
Uchinoura Space Centre, in the Kagoshima district of Japan, carrying the
new infrared satellite into space.

In about two weeks' time, ASTRO-F will be in polar orbit around the Earth
at an altitude of 745 kilometres. From there, after two months of system
check-outs and performance verification, it will survey the whole sky in
about half a year, with much better sensitivity, spatial resolution and
wider wavelength coverage than its only infrared surveyor predecessor, the
Anglo-Dutch-US IRAS satellite (1983).

The all-sky survey will be followed by a ten-month phase during which
thousands of selected astronomical targets will be observed in detail.
This will enable scientists to look at these individual objects for a
longer time, and thus with increased sensitivity, to conduct their
spectral analysis.

This second phase will end with the depletion of the liquid helium needed
to cool down the spacecraft telescope and its instruments to only a few
degrees above absolute zero. ASTRO-F will then start its third operations
phase and continue to make observations of selected celestial targets with
its infrared camera only, in a few specific infrared wavelengths.

ESA's involvement

Only two decades have passed since the birth of space-based infrared
astronomy; since then, each decade has been marked by the launch of
innovative infrared satellites that have revolutionised our very
perception of the cosmos.

In fact, infrared satellites make possible the detection of cool objects,
including planetary systems, interstellar dust and gas, or distant
galaxies, all of which are most difficult to study in the visible part of
the light spectrum. With infrared astronomy, it is also possible to study
the birth of stars and galaxies, the 'creation' energy of which peaks in
the infrared range.

The European Space Agency and Europe have a strong tradition in infrared
astronomy, which is now being continued by the participation of the UK,
the Netherlands and ESA in ASTRO-F. ESA is providing network support
through its ground station in Kiruna (Sweden) for a few passes per day.

ESA is also providing expertise and support for the sky-survey data
processing. This includes 'pointing reconstruction' -- which means
measuring exactly where the observed objects are in the sky, to help
accelerate the production of sky catalogues and ultimately produce a
census of the infrared universe.

In return, ESA has obtained ten percent of the observing opportunities
during the second and third operational phases of the ASTRO-F mission,
which is being allocated to European astronomers to perform their proposed
observations.

"The cooperation offered to ESA by Japan in ASTRO-F will help keep up
momentum for European astronomers as they build on their past work with
ISO, and look forward to the launch of ESA's Herschel infrared mission, in
early 2008," commented Prof. Southwood.

With the largest and most powerful space telescope to date (3.5 metres in
diameter), Herschel will build on the ASTRO-F census of the infrared
universe and on the legacy left by other satellites such as ESA's ISO and
NASA's Spitzer. It will reveal the deepest secrets of galaxies and of star
formation and evolution, while also studying the chemistry of the cold,
hidden cosmos.

Note for editors

ASTRO-F is the result of a truly international effort. It was developed by
the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), with the participation
of Nagoya University, the University of Tokyo, the National Institute of
Information & Communications Technology and other Japanese universities
and institutes. Including South Korea, the project also draws on the
involvement of ESA and a consortium of UK universities (Imperial College,
London, the Open University, the University of Sussex) funded by the
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), as well as the
Netherlands Institute for Space Research and Groningen University (NL).

ESA's ground-station support will be managed by the European Space
Operations Centre (ESOC). ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) is
in charge of pointing reconstruction and user support for European open
time observations.

ASTRO-F is carrying on board a cooled telescope with an approx. 70
centimetre aperture. It is also equipped with two instruments: the
Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) and the Infrared Camera (IRC). Together, they
will make possible an all-sky survey in six infrared wavelengths. These
instruments will also perform detailed photometric and spectroscopic
observation of selected astronomical targets over the 2*180 micrometre
wavelength range in 13 bands.

During the survey, ASTRO-F will provide a complete infrared map of our
galaxy with its stellar nurseries, which are only observable in infrared
because their visible light is obscured by the dust in which they are
embedded.

ASTRO-F will also detect dead stars in the solar neighbourhood and failed
stars known as 'brown dwarfs', emitting their dim light in the infrared.
It will also search for planetary systems within a distance of 1000 light
years from our sun and will enable scientists to study their formation
from the discs of dust and gas in which the 'protoplanets' are enshrouded.

It is expected that the all-sky survey alone will detect about a million
galaxies. ASTRO-F will also trace the large-scale structure of the
Universe, observe its most luminous objects which are rapidly moving away
from us and observe star formation in nearby and distant galaxies.

During selected observations, ASTRO-F will provide comprehensive,
multi-wavelength coverage of a wide variety of radio sources, such as
solar system asteroids, brown dwarf stars, debris discs and stars in our
and other close-by galaxies; it will also study many extragalactic
sources.

The response from European astronomers to the call for observing proposals
issued by ESA over the available observing time (10%) has been
overwhelming. Fifty proposals were received from 42 different principal
investigators from 32 institutes in nine European countries.

For more information, please contact:

ESA Communication Department
Media Relations Office
Tel: +33 (0)1.53.69.71.55
Fax: +33 (0)1.53.69.76.90

Alberto Salama, ESA ISO and ASTRO-F Project Scientist
E-mail: Alberto.Salama @ esa.int

Göran Pilbratt, ESA Herschel Project Scientist
E-mail: gpilbratt @ rssd.esa.int

More information

* ASTRO-F
http://www.jaxa.jp/missions/projects...f/index_e.html
* JAXA
http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html
* Herschel
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/120390_index_0_m.html

IMAGE CAPTIONS:

[Image 1:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM2MAMVGJE_index_1.html]
The ASTRO-F satellite is launched aboard the M-V Launch Vehicle No. 8
(M-V-8) at 06:28 on 22 February 2006, Japan Standard Time (JST) from the
Uchinoura Space Center (USC).

The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and it was confirmed that the satellite
was safely injected into its scheduled orbit. When in orbit, ASTRO-F was
given a nickname of 'Akari' (meaning a 'light'.)

Credits: JAXA

[Image 2:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM2MAMVGJE...html#subhead1]
[Image 3:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM2MAMVGJE...html#subhead3]
Artist's impression of ASTRO-F.

Credits: JAXA