skip to content
 
InFOCuS
This website is kept for archival purposes only and is no longer updated.

InFOCμS: International Focusing Optics Collaboration for μCrab Sensitivity

InFOCμS is a balloon-borne instrument incorporating recent breakthroughs in focusing optics and detectors to achieve order of magnitude improvements in both hard X-ray sensitivity (~100 μCrabs in 12 hours, 20 μC for LDB) and imaging resolution (~1 arcmin), with high resolution spectroscopy (~2 keV FWHM). This instrument will pioneer the extension into the hard X-ray energy range of the power of focusing optics that has revolutionized X-ray astronomy with missions like ROSAT and ASCA. ROSAT covered the X-ray range of 0.1 - 2.5 keV, and ASCA the 0.5 - 10 keV range. We expect exciting new results such as direct imaging of cosmic-ray acceleration and nucleosynthesis (44Ti lines) in the Cas A supernova remnant and the first measurement of intergalactic magnetic field strengths. Our international collaboration includes world leaders in the development of foil mirrors, multicoated optics, CdZnTe detectors, and balloon payloads with the experience and resources necessary to successfully exploit these promising new technologies from the Constellation-X concept study.

InFOCuS logo

Photo of InFOCus on the crane


FirstGov logo + NASA Privacy, Security, Notices NASA Curator: J.D. Myers
NASA Official: Takashi Okajima
Last Updated: Tuesday, 28-Feb-2017 10:39:12 EST