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This paper describes the design, implementation, and verification of a test-bed for determining the noise temperature of radio antennas operating between 400-800 MHz. The requirements for this test-bed were driven by the HIRAX experiment, which uses antennas with embedded amplification, making system noise characterization difficult in the laboratory. The test-bed consists of two large cylindrical cavities, each containing radio-frequency (RF) absorber held at different temperatures (300K and 77 K), allowing a measurement of system noise temperature through the well-known ‘Y-factor’ method. The apparatus has been constructed at Yale, and over the course of the past year has undergone detailed verification measurements. To date, three preliminary noise temperature measurement sets have been conducted using the system, putting us on track to make the first noise temperature measurements of the HIRAX feed and perform the first analysis of feed repeatability.

The Euclid Imaging Channels Instrument of the Euclid mission is designed to study the weak gravitational lensing cosmological probe. The combined Visible and Near Infrared imaging channels will be controlled by a common data handling unit (PDHU), implementing onboard the instrument digital interfaces to the satellite. The PDHU main functionalities include the scientific data acquisition and compression, the instrument commanding and control and the instrument health monitoring. Given the high data rate and the compression needs, an innovative architecture, based on the use of several computing and interface modules, considered as building blocks of a modular design will be presented.

The NIP is a near infrared imaging photometer that is currently under investigation for the Euclid space mission in context of ESA's 2015 Cosmic Vision program. Together with the visible camera (VIS) it will form the basis of the weak lensing measurements for Euclid. The NIP channel will perform photometric imaging in 3 near infrared bands (Y, J, H) covering a wavelength range from ~ 0.9 to 2 μm over a field of view (FoV) of ~ 0.5 deg 2 . With the required limiting point source magnitude of 24 mAB (5 sigma) the NIP channel will be used to determine the photometric redshifts of over 2 billion galaxies collected over a wide survey area of 20 000 deg 2 . In addition to the photometric measurements, the NIP channel will deliver unique near infrared (NIR) imaging data over the entire extragalactic sky, enabling a wide variety of ancillary astrophysical and cosmological studies. In this paper we will present the results of the study carried out by the Euclid Imaging Consortium (EIC) during the Euclid assessment phase.

A feasibility study is presently led by CNES for the Dark UNiverse Explorer (DUNE), a space mission designed to provide unprecedented constraints on dark matter and dark energy using weak gravitational lensing measurements over a very large region of the sky (20 000 square degrees). To achieve this scientific goal, the instrument requires a stable 0.23 arc second FWHM PSF with very low ellipticity (6%) over a field of view of 0.55 square degree. To perform the survey we adopted the drift scan mode which brings many advantages in this type of mission but adds the unusual requirement of a zero distortion optical design. We will present the optical performances of a 1.2 meters Korsch three mirror telescope concept (called NODI for NO DIstortion) where the third mirror works with an atypical large magnification and a slightly curved focal surface to obtain zero distortion over an annular 1.7 degrees field of view. A mosaic of 64 CCD detectors of 8 Mega pixels each is shown to pave the curved focal surface without significant degradation of the distortion.

We present the baseline telescope design for the telescope for the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) space mission. SNAP’s purpose is to determine expansion history of the Universe by measuring the redshifts, magnitudes, and spectral classifications of thousands of supernovae with unprecedented accuracy. Discovering and measuring these supernovae demand both a wide optical field and a high sensitivity throughout the visible and near IR wavebands. We have adopted the annular-field three-mirror anastigmat (TMA) telescope configuration, whose classical aberrations (including chromatic) are zero. We show a preliminary optmechanical design that includes important features for stray light control and on-orbit adjustment and alignment of the optics. We briefly discuss stray light and tolerance issues, and present a preliminary wavefront error budget for the SNAP Telescope. We conclude by describing some of the design tasks being carried out during the current SNAP research and development phase.

The SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) will measure precisely the cosmological expansion history over both the acceleration and deceleration epochs and thereby constrain the nature of the dark energy that dominates our universe today. The SNAP focal plane contains equal areas of optical CCDs and NIR sensors and an integral field spectrograph. Having over 150 million pixels and a field-of-view of 0.34 square degrees, the SNAP NIR system will be the largest yet constructed. With sensitivity in the range 0.9-1.7 μm, it will detect Type Ia supernovae between z = 1 and 1.7 and will provide follow-up precision photometry for all supernovae. HgCdTe technology, with a cut-off tuned to 1.7 μm, will permit passive cooling at 140 K while maintaining noise below zodiacal levels. By dithering to remove the effects of intrapixel variations and by careful attention to other instrumental effects, we expect to control relative photometric accuracy below a few hundredths of a magnitude. Because SNAP continuously revisits the same fields we will be able to achieve outstanding statistical precision on the photometry of reference stars in these fields, allowing precise monitoring of our detectors. The capabilities of the NIR system for broadening the science reach of SNAP are discussed.

A well-adapted spectrograph concept has been developed for the SNAP (SuperNova/Acceleration Probe) experiment. The goal is to ensure proper identification of Type Ia supernovae and to standardize the magnitude of each candidate by determining explosion parameters. An instrument based on an integral field method with the powerful concept of imager slicing has been designed and is presented in this paper. The spectrograph concept is optimized to have very high efficiency and low spectral resolution (R {approx} 100), constant through the wavelength range (0.35-1.7{micro}m), adapted to the scientific goals of the mission.

The SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) mission will require a two-meter class telescope delivering diffraction limited images spanning a one degree field in the visible and near infrared wavelength regime. This requirement, equivalent to nearly one billion pixel resolution, places stringent demands on its optical system in terms of field flatness, image quality, and freedom from chromatic aberration. We discuss the advantages of annular-field three-mirror anastigmat (TMA) telescopes for applications such as SNAP, and describe the features of the specific optical configuration that we have baselined for the SNAP mission. We discuss the mechanical design and choice of materials for the telescope. Then we present detailed ray traces and diffraction calculations for our baseline optical design. We briefly discuss stray light and tolerance issues, and present a preliminary wavefront error budget for the SNAP Telescope. We conclude by describing some of tasks to be carried out during the upcoming SNAP research and development phase.