10:45 AM - 12:15 PM
[PCG18-P07] Development of UV imager dedicated for Comet Interceptor mission
Keywords:Lyman-alpha, Comet, UV
The coma of the comet is mainly composed of Hydrogen atoms originate from water (H2O) sublimated from nucleus. They can be observed remotely via resonant scattering of solar radiation especially in Lyman-alpha line (121.6nm). Because the coma is known to be distributed over 10 million km from the nucleus, it can be observed from distant point and useful to know the activity. The Hydrogen Imager (HI) is now under development to be boarded on the B1 spacecraft of Comet Interceptor mission led by ESA and JAXA. The instrument consists of 6cm-class Cassegrain telescope, various filters, and photon detector (imager). Total size including electronics is smaller than 100mm x 100mm x 250mm and its weight is less than 1.65kg. The optical design has been tested using the BBM. The performance of filters have also been tested using BBM in the synchrotron facility in 2022. The detector (MCP Assembly) design almost finalized to meet the limited area in the HI instrument. In this presentation, the development status, and future plans of HI for each optical part will be shown.