BRITISH scientists and engineers are set to play a leading role in an ambitious NASA mission designed to peer into some of the most mysterious reaches of the Universe.
UK researchers are part of the international team selected for the Probe Mission for Far-Infrared Astrophysics, known as PRIMA, which will use a powerful space telescope to study light that cannot be seen by conventional optical telescopes.
The mission promises to give scientists an extraordinary new view of the cosmos, helping them investigate how planets formed, how galaxies and their enormous black holes evolved, and how dust and heavier elements accumulated across billions of years of cosmic history.
And at the heart of the project will be British scientific expertise built up over more than four decades.
The UK contribution, supported by the UK Space Agency, brings together researchers and engineers from the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space, the University of Sussex, Cardiff University, Imperial College London and Celtic Terahertz Technologies.
NASA’s selection of PRIMA represents a major milestone for the international project. If the mission is confirmed, its project cost will be capped at $1.2billion, excluding launch and other costs outside the project.
PRIMA is designed around a 1.8-metre telescope capable of detecting far-infrared wavelengths.
Far-infrared astronomy allows scientists to investigate regions of space that can be obscured by cosmic dust and therefore difficult or impossible to examine using ordinary telescopes.
By carrying out highly sensitive surveys of the sky, scientists hope PRIMA will help piece together more of the story of how the Universe developed into the extraordinary place we observe today.
Britain’s involvement builds on an impressive heritage in infrared astronomy stretching back to the 1980s.
UK expertise has contributed to major projects including the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, Infrared Space Observatory, Spitzer Space Telescope, AKARI and Herschel Space Observatory.
For PRIMA, the UK team is expected to provide the mission’s far-infrared filters, highly specialised technology in which expertise at Cardiff University and Celtic Terahertz Technologies has helped establish a distinctive British capability.
RAL Space will also contribute to PRIMA’s Ground Segment, which will be responsible for handling and analysing scientific information transmitted back from the spacecraft.
Its work includes development of a specialist observation simulator capable of modelling the movement of PRIMA’s telescope and imaging instrument as they sweep across the sky, helping scientists understand how observations will ultimately be transformed into maps of the Universe.
Dr Chris Pearson, Astrophysics Programme Lead at STFC RAL Space, said PRIMA would mark the beginning of a new era in infrared astronomy and described the team as proud to be involved in the mission.
The British contribution is being backed by £3.3million of Government funding.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd said the mission would allow scientists to investigate parts of the Universe that remain extremely difficult to study, even using some of today’s most powerful telescopes.
She said Britain’s involvement was another demonstration of the country’s proud record in space science and its contribution towards understanding deep space.
Professor Seb Oliver, from the University of Sussex, who leads the UK’s contribution to PRIMA, said British involvement in instrumentation, calibration and mission operations demonstrated the strength of the country’s scientific capability.
He said the mission would provide an unprecedented view of the far-infrared Universe and help scientists tackle some of astrophysics’ biggest questions.
NASA has similarly described the project in ambitious terms.
Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said PRIMA would provide humanity with a new window into the deep Universe, helping researchers investigate the formation of planets, stars and black holes, as well as questions surrounding the origins of water on Earth.
For Britain, the mission represents far more than simply participation in another international scientific project.
From highly specialised components produced using expertise developed in Cardiff, to sophisticated software and mission capabilities at RAL Space and research leadership at Sussex, British scientists and engineers will be helping provide the technology needed to look billions of years into our cosmic past.
More than 40 years after British researchers began helping pioneer far-infrared astronomy from space, the next generation is preparing to carry that tradition forward.
And when PRIMA eventually turns its gaze towards the deepest reaches of the cosmos, British science will be helping humanity see what has previously remained hidden.
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