A Compact and Lightweight Fibered Photometer for the PicSat Mission

Presenter Information

Mathias Nowak, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE
Sylvestre Lacour, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE
Vincent Lapeyrere, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE
Lester David, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE
A. Crouzier, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE
G. Schworer, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE
P. Perrot, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE
S. Rayane, LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universites, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. 5 place Jules Jasen, 92195 Meudon, FRANCE

Session

Session 6: Science Mission Payloads 1

Abstract

PicSat is a nanosatellite developed to observe the transit of the giant planet β Pictoris, expected in late 2017. Its science objectives are: the observation of the transit of the giant planet’s Hill sphere, the detection of exocomets in the system, and the fine monitoring of the circumstellar disk inhomogeneities. To answer these objectives without exceeding the possibilities of a 3-unit Cubesat in terms of mass and power budget, a small but ambitious 2 kg opto-mechanical payload was designed. The instrument, specifically made for high precision photometry, uses a 3.7 cm effective aperture telescope which injects the light in a single-mode optical fiber linked to an avalanche photodioode. To ensure the stability of the light injection in the fiber, a fine pointing system based on a two-axis piezoelectric actuation system, is used. This system will achieve a sub-arcsecond precision, and ensure that an overall photometric precision of at least 200 ppm/hr can be reached.