ESA - Space Science - Herschel overview

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Mission Images

Herschel overview

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Credits: ESA

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Herschel will carry the largest space telescope ever launched to date. From a point in space called the 2nd Lagrangian Point (or L2), its 3.5-m diameter mirror will collect long-wavelength infrared radiation from some of the coolest and most distant objects in the Universe. Herschel will be the only space observatory to cover the range from far-infrared to sub-millimetre wavelengths. The mission is to be launched in July 2008, in tandem with ESA's Planck spacecraft, by an Ariane-5 rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou (French Guiana).

Credits: ESA (Image by AOES Medialab)

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This picture shows an artist's impression of the view inside Herschel.

To protect the sensitive instruments from heat generated during operations and to achieve its challenging objectives, the satellite must operate at very low temperatures. This is why the spacecraft’s brain – or its payload module – hosts a cryostat, a cryogenic module inside which the cold components of the scientific instruments are mounted.

Inside the cryostat the sensitive instrument detectors are cooled down to about -273 ºC (0.3 degrees above absolute zero). This low temperature is achieved using superfluid helium (at about -271 ºC) and an additional cooling stage inside the focal plane units.

The service module is the spacecraft’s heart, which keeps the spacecraft going by caring for all its vital functions. It also carries the ‘warm’ components of the instruments – those that do not require cooling with the cryostat.

Credits: ESA (Image by AOES Medialab)

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Herschel will have an unprecedented view of the cold universe, bridging the gap in the spectrum between what can be observed from ground and earlier space missions of this kind. Infrared radiation can penetrate the gas and dust clouds that hide objects from optical telescopes, looking deep into star-forming regions, galactic centres and planetary systems. Cooler objects, such as tiny stars and molecular clouds, even galaxies enshrouded in dust, barely emitting optical light, are visible in the infrared. Observing in the infrared provides us with a complementary view of the universe.

Credits: ESA (Image by AOES Medialab); background: Hubble Space Telescope, NASA/ ESA/ STScI

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The gigantic telescope of ESA’s Herschel infrared space observatory as it was being prepared for assembly with its spacecraft. Herschel uses the largest mirror ever flown in space.

Credits: ESA

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The Herschel telescope is a classic Cassegrain design with a 3.5-metre primary mirror and the secondary mirror. The manufacture, alignment and optical characterisation down to operational temperatures (70 K or -203 ºC) was completed in September 2006.

The telescope is now stored in the Astrium facilities in Toulouse waiting for integration to the Herschel satellite.

Credits: Astrium (P. Dumas)

Mission

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Herschel operating at the second Lagrange point (L2). It points to a target object for observations, then slews to target another object.

Credits: ESA (animation by AOES Medialab)

Spacecraft and telescope

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This animation shows the the progressive build up of Herschel.

Credits: ESA/AOES Medialab

Journey

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Herchel and Planck, launch configuration

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Herschel will launch on an Ariane-5 rocket from the Guyana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guyana, in July 2008. It will be part of a shared launch, along with ESA's Planck spacecraft. The two vehicles will separate shortly after launch and proceed independently to different orbits around the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system (L2). The Ariane-5 will burn its solid boosters for slightly less than 2.5 minutes and its main and upper stage engines for about 25 minutes to inject Herschel and then Planck into transfer trajectories bound for L2.

Credits: ESA - Guarniero

Last update: 19 August 2009

Herschel: ESA's giant infrared observatory

More about...

Herschel fact sheet ISO overview Planck overview

Observations: Seeing in infrared wavelengths L2, the second Lagrangian Point Why infrared astronomy is a hot topic The infrared explorers