The JEM-EUSO instrument

In this paper we describe the main characteristics of the JEM-EUSO instrument. The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EUSO) of the International Space Station (ISS) will observe Ultra High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) from space. It will detect UV-light of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) produced by UHECRs traversing the Earth?s atmosphere. For each event, the detector will determine the energy, arrival direction and the type of the primary particle. The advantage of a space-borne detector resides in the largefield of view, using a target volume of about 10 12 tons of atmosphere, far greater than what is achievable from ground. Another advantage is a nearly uniform sampling of the whole celestial sphere. The corresponding increase in statistics will help to clarify the origin and sources of UHECRs and characterize the environment traversed during their production and propagation. JEM-EUSO is a 1.1 ton refractor telescope using an optics of 2.5 m diameter Fresnel lenses to focus the UV-light from EAS on a focal surface composed of about 5000 multi-anode photomultipliers, for a total of 3x10^5 channels. A multi-layer parallel architecture handles front-end acquisition, selecting and storing valid triggers. Each processing level filters the events with increasingly complex algorithms using FPGAs and DSPs to reject spurious events and reduce thedata rate to a value compatible with downlink constraints. Fil: Adams, J. H.. University of Alabama in Huntsville; Estados Unidos Fil: Ahmad, S.. Ecole Polytechnique; Francia Fil: Albert, J. N.. Univ Paris-Sud; Francia Fil: Allard, D.. Univ Paris Diderot; Francia Fil: Anchordoqui, L.. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Estados Unidos Fil: Andreev, V.. University of California; Estados Unidos Fil: Anzalone, A.. Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Palermo; Italia Fil: Arai, Y.. High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK); Japón Fil: Asano, K.. Tokyo Institute of Technology; Japón Fil: Ave Pernas, M.. Universidad de Alcala; España Fil: Baragatti, P.. UTIU, Dipartimento di Ingegneria; Italia Fil: Barrillon, P.. Univ Paris-Sud; Francia Fil: Batsch, T.. National Centre for Nuclear Research; Polonia Fil: Bayer, J.. University of Tubingen; Alemania Fil: Bechini, R.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; Italia Fil: Belenguer, T.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (INTA); España Fil: Bellotti, R.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; Italia Fil: Belov, K.. University of California; Estados Unidos Fil: Berlind, A. A.. Vanderbilt University; Estados Unidos Fil: Bertaina, M.. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare; Italia Fil: Biermann, P. L.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT); Alemania Fil: Biktemerova, S.. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research,; Rusia Fil: Blaksley, C.. Univ Paris Diderot; Francia Fil: Blanc, N.. Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM); Suiza Fil: Blecki, J.. Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK); Polonia Fil: Blin,Bondil, S.. Ecole Polytechnique; Francia Fil: Blumer, J.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT),; Alemania Fil: Bobik, P.. Institute of Experimental Physics; Eslovaquia Fil: Bogomilov, M.. University of Sofia; Bulgaria Fil: Supanitsky, Alberto Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentina Fil: Casolino, Marco. RIKEN; Japón Fil: Kajino, Fumiyoshi. National Astronomical Observatory; Japón Fil: Piotrowski, Lech Wiktor. RIKEN; Japón Fil: The JEM-EUSO Collaboration.