FIRST and Planck are part of a single ESA program to study the Far-infrared and microwave sky planned for launch in early 2007. Scientifically these satellites address the highest priorities in astrophysics. Planck promises to map the entire Cosmic Background Radiation at all scientifically interesting wavelengths and angular scales, and will thereby provide answers to the most fundamental questions about the origin and final fate of the Universe. FIRST, will provide a breakthrough in high spatial and spectral resolution imaging in the far-infrared and sub-millimeter range, which will result in the discovery of the first galaxies to form after the Big Bang as well as a wealth of information on the formation and evolution of galaxies, the structure of our own Galaxy, and the nature of comets.The combination of FIRST and Planck has extraordinary capabilities, far beyond other experiments being considered at similar wavelengths.
Background:
The recent report by the Space Studies board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences rated the number one priority in all of astronomy to be the "determination of the geometry and content of the Universe by measurement of the fine-scale anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background". The number two priority is the "investigation of galaxies near the time of their formation at very high redshift".
There is an exciting opportunity for Canada to become involved in both of these endeavors through joining the FIRST/Planck program. This program is a successor to NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and is likely to provide much more definitive and exciting conclusions. Results from COBE touched off a media storm, reaching the front page of virtually every major newspaper around the globe and attaining intense television coverage. The results sparked the imagination of scientists as well as the public; Stephen Hawking called the anisotropy measurements "the greatest discovery of the century - if not of all time". We expect that FIRST and Planck will further excite the public's desire to understand our origins.
The Missions:
The Planck Surveyor is a dedicated Cosmic Background Radiation experiment designed to image the minute temperature variations in the CBR over the whole sky with unprecedented accuracy and spectral resolution. It is part of ESA's Horizon 2000 Scientific Program.
FIRST, the Far Infra-Red and Sub-mm Telescope, is a Cornerstone ESA mission that will perform photometry and spectroscopy in the 85 to 600 micron wavelength range. It will have a 3.5m diameter telescope and will hold three sophisticated instruments inside a super-fluid helium cryostat. These instruments will allow views of our own Galaxy and of the most distant galaxies with incredible sensitivity at wavelengths which are unobservable from the ground.
Scientific profiles of Planck and of FIRST follow in separate chapters.
ESA considers these two satellites to be part of the same scientific program and plans to launch them into separate orbits near the Earth-Sun lagrange point L2 in the first quarter of 2007. L2 is an extraordinarily good site for a telescope. It orbits the sun outside the Earth's and the Moon's orbits, offering stable and dark observations. Neither the Earth, the Sun nor the Moon ever come into the field of view, so very long observations are possible.
The Opportunity for Canadian Involvement:
This program is cost-capped at 630M Euros, and ESA is actively seeking partners. NASA has already committed itself to both of these efforts. FIRST is part of NASA's strategic plan for 2000-2004 and U.S. investigators are playing critical roles in instrument developement and some aspects of the spacecraft. US scientists and industry are also full participants in the Planck instrument teams.
Canadian scientists have been invited to take part in Planck and in two of the three instruments on FIRST (HIFI, a high resolution heterodyne receiver and SPIRE, a bolometer-based imaging spectrometer). An Ad-hoc scientific committee chaired by Mark Halpern, UBC is coordinating CSA sponsored studies of possible industrial contributions to these four instruments as well as to the spacecrafts, and examining the range of options for participation of Canadian scientists in these experiments. A broad-based public meeting to evaluate the results of these studies is expected to take place in Spring '99.
Capitalizing on Canadian Expertise:
Canadian research teams are strong in the technical and intellectual challenges raised by these missions, which is why they have been invited to participate.
FIRST is a natural extension of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) which is the premier ground-based instrument at submillimeter wavelengths, taking advantage of a few narrow semi-transparent windows through the Earth's atmosphere. (FIRST will be able to access this enire spectral range and shorter wavelengths too.) Through its partnership in the JCMT Canada has a leading technical and scientific role in studying the sub-millimetre sky, and formulating the questions which FIRST is designed to answer. Canada also has a strong role in the ODIN satellite, a shared aeronomy and astrophysics instrument designed to perform spectroscopic observations of interstellar oxygen and water which is due for launch this year.
Several Canadian scientists play leading roles in studies of the Cosmic Background Radiation, such as Planck will pursue. The CSA sponsored balloon program BAM is a leading experimental effort in this field and that group has long experience using bolometers in space to study the CBR. Two Canadians are already members of the small US team associated with Planck. One Canadian is a member of the MAP science team, and another of BOOMERanG, two leading U.S. efforts in this field. Scientists on the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey team should play a strong role in understanding the diffuse galactic emission which Planck and FIRST will measure.
The Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) is probably the pre-eminent theoretical centre in the world for studying the problems that FIRST and Planck are designed to address.