NASA Awards Two Small Explorer Development Contracts

June 19, 2009

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241


RELEASE: 09-141

NASA AWARDS TWO SMALL EXPLORER DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected two science proposals to be developed
into full missions as part of the agency's Small Explorer, or SMEX,
Program. The selections will implement projects that will study our
sun and some of the most exotic objects in the universe, such as
neutron stars and black holes.

Both missions will launch by 2015; the first could launch by the end
of 2012. Mission costs will be capped at $105 million each, excluding
the launch vehicle.

"These two missions demonstrate the value of the Small Explorer
Program," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science
Mission Directorate. "For a relatively small investment, we'll see an
amazing amount of science generated."

The two winning proposals a

1. Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. Principal Investigator
Alan M. Title, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto,
Calif.

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission will use a solar
telescope and spectrograph to explore the solar chromospheres. This
is a crucial region for understanding energy transport into the solar
wind and an archetype for stellar atmospheres. Recent discoveries
have shown the chromosphere is significantly more dynamic and
structured than previously thought. The unique instrument
capabilities, coupled with state of the art 3-D modeling, will
explore this dynamic region in detail. The mission will greatly
extend the scientific output of existing heliophysics spacecraft that
follow the effects of energy release processes from the sun to Earth.


2. Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX. Principal Investigator
Jean
H. Swank, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Among the thousands of X-ray sources observed with prior and current
X-ray satellites, only one astrophysical object, the Crab Nebula, has
been measured in polarized X-rays. By providing an increase in
sensitivity of more than 100 times, the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism
SMEX mission will detect and measure the polarization of the X-rays
emitted by some of the most energetic and enigmatic objects in the
cosmos. These include ultra-dense neutron stars and stellar-mass
black holes, which are the remains of the dying explosions of very
hot, massive stars, and ultra-massive black holes at the centers of
distant galaxies. By studying the changes with time and energy of
their polarized X-ray emission, the mission will probe the bending of
space and the curving of light in regions of extreme gravity near
these objects.

The SMEX Program is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to
space for heliophysics and astrophysics missions using small- to
mid-sized spacecraft. The program also seeks to raise public
awareness of NASA's space science missions through educational and
public outreach activities. The winning proposals are the 12th and
13th Small Explorer missions selected for flight.

Goddard manages the Explorer program for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. For more information about the program,
visit:

http://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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