Mission Architecture
There are many possibilities for various New Worlds Missions, three of which are:
- New Worlds Discoverer proposed to use an existing space telescope (like the soon to be launched James Webb telescope), to finding exoplanets. The size of the starshade could be optimized for the observing telescope.
- New Worlds Observer would use two spacecraft, one that has a dedicated telescope and one with a starshade to find exoplanets. The possibility of two starshades is also a consideration. One starshade to point towards the desired target while the other moves into position for the next target. This would eliminate some of the time delay in observing different systems and allow for many more targets to be observed in the same timespan.
- New Worlds Imager would use many spacecraft/starshades. This would allow observers to resolve the planet and obtain true planetary imaging.
Read more about this topic: New Worlds Mission
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