Session
Weekend Session III: Science/Mission Payloads Research & Academia 1
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
Coronagraphs are the only instruments that can capture the development of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) throughout the near-Sun space. Thus, they provide critical information for the physics of CME evolution and propagation and consequently for space weather forecasting. It makes strategic sense to lower the technological and logistical barriers for maintaining space-based coronagraphic observations. MiniCOR is an ambitious coronagraph design to address these challenges. The technical goal of MiniCOR is to demonstrate that a low-cost miniaturized 3U coronagraph, can return data with higher cadence and equal or better sensitivity than currently operating full-size coronagraphs. MiniCOR is a funded project under NASA HPD H-FORT program. It began development in 2024 for a launch in Sun-Synchronous polar orbit in 2028. Derived from the successful COR2 coronagraph on the STEREO mission, MiniCOR will leverage 'smart' on-board processing for optimizing observations and data downlink to deliver state-of-the-art observations of the corona from 3 to 20 solar radii at a cadence of a 4-5 minutes. The success of MiniCOR will demonstrate that 'big science' can indeed come in 'small packages'.
MiniCOR: Miniature Coronagraph for Heliophysics Research
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Coronagraphs are the only instruments that can capture the development of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) throughout the near-Sun space. Thus, they provide critical information for the physics of CME evolution and propagation and consequently for space weather forecasting. It makes strategic sense to lower the technological and logistical barriers for maintaining space-based coronagraphic observations. MiniCOR is an ambitious coronagraph design to address these challenges. The technical goal of MiniCOR is to demonstrate that a low-cost miniaturized 3U coronagraph, can return data with higher cadence and equal or better sensitivity than currently operating full-size coronagraphs. MiniCOR is a funded project under NASA HPD H-FORT program. It began development in 2024 for a launch in Sun-Synchronous polar orbit in 2028. Derived from the successful COR2 coronagraph on the STEREO mission, MiniCOR will leverage 'smart' on-board processing for optimizing observations and data downlink to deliver state-of-the-art observations of the corona from 3 to 20 solar radii at a cadence of a 4-5 minutes. The success of MiniCOR will demonstrate that 'big science' can indeed come in 'small packages'.
