Design and Cryogenic Performance of a Hexapod Platform for a Large Ground-based Wide Field Survey Telescope

The thermal gradient is an important factor that causes degradation to the image quality of telescopes. In order to ensure the accurate alignment of the primary focus unit and the primary mirror, the hexapod platform(as a corrector) is investigated in this paper. First, a ground-based telescope with 2.5 m aperture and 3.5 deg field of view is described. The telescope is under construction, and it is expected to be finished in 2023. Second, the hexapod platform with flexure hinges utilized to adjust the primary focus unit is proposed, which is applied as a corrector.Then, the inverse kinematics of the platform is established and an open-loop control system is built based on it.Finally, the cryogenic performance test for the hexapod platform is performed. The experimental results show that the resolution and repeatability of the translation for the hexapod platform can be achieved at the micrometer level.The resolution and repeatability of the rotation can be achieved at the arc-second level. Therefore, the cryogenic performance of the hexapod platform can meet the optical imaging requirements of the wide-field ground-based telescope. The kinematic analysis and cryogenic performance tests in the paper provide a technical reference for the precise alignment of the primary focus unit and the primary mirror, which can improve the imaging quality of the telescope.

Long-term Integration Ability of the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite(SWAS)Spectral Line Receivers

The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite(SWAS)was the first space telescope capable of high spectral resolution observations of terahertz spectral lines.We have investigated the integration ability of its two receivers and spectrometer during five and a half years of on-orbit operation.The CI,O_(2),H_(2)O,and^(13)CO spectra taken toward all observed Galactic sources were analyzed.The present results are based on spectra with a total integration time of up to 2.72×10~4hr(■10~8s).The noise in the spectra is generally consistent with that expected from the radiometer equation,without any sign of approaching a noise floor.This noise performance reflects the extremely stable performance of the passively cooled front end as well as other relevant components in the SWAS instrument throughout its mission lifetime.

The Solar Upper Transition Region Imager(SUTRI)Onboard the SATech-01 Satellite

The Solar Upper Transition Region Imager(SUTRI)onboard the Space Advanced Technology demonstration satellite(SATech-01),which was launched to a Sun-synchronous orbit at a height of~500 km in 2022 July,aims to test the on-orbit performance of our newly developed Sc/Si multi-layer reflecting mirror and the 2k×2k EUV CMOS imaging camera and to take full-disk solar images at the Ne VII 46.5 nm spectral line with a filter width of~3 nm.SUTRI employs a Ritchey-Chrétien optical system with an aperture of 18 cm.The on-orbit observations show that SUTRI images have a field of view of~416×416 and a moderate spatial resolution of~8″without an image stabilization system.The normal cadence of SUTRI images is 30 s and the solar observation time is about16 hr each day because the earth eclipse time accounts for about 1/3 of SATech-01's orbit period.Approximately15 GB data is acquired each day and made available online after processing.SUTRI images are valuable as the Ne VII 46.5 nm line is formed at a temperature regime of~0.5 MK in the solar atmosphere,which has rarely been sampled by existing solar imagers.SUTRI observations will establish connections between structures in the lower solar atmosphere and corona,and advance our understanding of various types of solar activity such as flares,filament eruptions,coronal jets and coronal mass ejections.

Operating principles and detection characteristics of the Visible and Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer in the Chang'e-3

The Visible and Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer （VNIS）, using two acousto-optic tunable filters as dispersive components, consists of a VIS/NIR imag- ing spectrometer （0.45-0.95 μm）, a shortwave IR spectrometer （0.9-2.4 p.m） and a calibration unit with dust-proofing functionality. The VNIS was utilized to detect the spectrum of the lunar surface and achieve in-orbit calibration, which satisfied the re- quirements for scientific detection. Mounted at the front of the Yutu rover, lunar ob- jects that are detected with the VNIS with a 45° visual angle to obtain spectra and ge- ometrical data in order to analyze the mineral composition of the lunar surface. After landing successfully on the Moon, the VNIS performed several explorations and cal- ibrations, and obtained several spectral images and spectral reflectance curves of the lunar soil in the region of Mare Imbrium. This paper describes the working principle and detection characteristics of the VNIS and provides a reference for data processing and scientific applications.

Data processing and initial results of Chang'e-3 lunar penetrating radar

To improve our understanding of the formation and evolution of the Moon, one of the payloads onboard the Chang＇e-3 （CE-3） rover is Lunar Penetrating Radar （LPR）. This investigation is the first attempt to explore the lunar subsurface structure by using ground penetrating radar with high resolution. We have probed the subsur- face to a depth of several hundred meters using LPR. In-orbit testing, data processing and the preliminary results are presented. These observations have revealed the con- figuration of regolith where the thickness of regolith varies from about 4 m to 6 m. In addition, one layer of lunar rock, which is about 330 m deep and might have been accumulated during the depositional hiatus of mare basalts, was detected.

Ground experiments and performance evaluation of the Low-Frequency Radio Spectrometer onboard the lander of Chang’e-4 mission

The Low-Frequency Radio Spectrometer(LFRS)is a scientific payload onboard the Chang’e-4 lunar lander launched in December 2018.The LFRS provides in-situ measurements of the low-frequency radio phenomena on the far-side of theMoon for the first time in human history.To evaluate the performance of the LFRS,a series of ground experiments are conducted using an engineering model of the LFRS.It is not easy to perform the experiments because the Electro Magnetic Interference(EMI)from the Chang’e-4 lunar lander itself and the environment is very intense.The results after EMI mitigation show that the sensitivity of the LFRS may be 10^(−18)W m^(−2)Hz^(−1).

Photometric Calibration of the Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope for Its First Six Months of Operation on the Lunar Surface

We describe the photometric calibration of the Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope（LUT）, the first robotic astronomical telescope working on the lunar surface, for its first six months of operation on the lunar surface. Two spectral datasets（set A and B） from near-ultraviolet（NUV） to the optical band were constructed with 44 International Ultraviolet Explorer（IUE） standards, because of the LUT＇s relatively wide wavelength coverage. Set A was obtained by extrapolating the IUE NUV spectra（λ 〈 3200 ） to the optical band based upon the theoretical spectra of stellar atmosphere models. Set B was composed of theoretical spectra from 2000 to 8000 extracted from the same model grid. In total, seven standards have been observed in15 observational runs until May 2014. The calibration results show that the photometric performance of LUT is highly stable in its first six months of operation. The magnitude zero points obtained from the two spectral datasets are also consistent with each other, i.e., zp = 17.54 ± 0.09 mag（set A） and zp = 17.52 ± 0.07 mag（set B）.

Data processing and initial results from the CE-3 Extreme Ultraviolet Camera

The Extreme Ultraviolet Camera （EUVC） onboard the Chang＇e-3 （CE-3） lander is used to observe the structure and dynamics of Earth＇s plasmasphere from the Moon. By detecting the resonance line emission of helium ions （He＋） at 30.4 nm, the EUVC images the entire plasmasphere with a time resolution of 10 min and a spatial resolution of about 0.1 Earth radius （RE） in a single frame. We first present details about the data processing from EUVC and the data acquisition in the commissioning phase, and then report some initial results, which reflect the basic features of the plas- masphere well. The photon count and emission intensity of EUVC are consistent with previous observations and models, which indicate that the EUVC works normally and can provide high quality data for future studies.

Scientific data products and the data pre-processing subsystem of the Chang'e-3 mission

The Chang＇e-3 （CE-3） mission is China＇s first exploration mission on the surface of the Moon that uses a lander and a rover. Eight instruments that form the scientific payloads have the following objectives： （1） investigate the morphological features and geological structures at the landing site; （2） integrated in-situ analysis of minerals and chemical compositions; （3） integrated exploration of the structure of the lunar interior; （4） exploration of the lunar-terrestrial space environment, lunar sur- face environment and acquire Moon-based ultraviolet astronomical observations. The Ground Research and Application System （GRAS） is in charge of data acquisition and pre-processing, management of the payload in orbit, and managing the data products and their applications. The Data Pre-processing Subsystem （DPS） is a part of GRAS. The task of DPS is the pre-processing of raw data from the eight instruments that are part of CE-3, including channel processing, unpacking, package sorting, calibration and correction, identification of geographical location, calculation of probe azimuth angle, probe zenith angle, solar azimuth angle, and solar zenith angle and so on, and conducting quality checks. These processes produce Level 0, Level 1 and Level 2 data. The computing platform of this subsystem is comprised of a high-performance computing cluster, including a real-time subsystem used for processing Level 0 data and a post-time subsystem for generating Level 1 and Level 2 data. This paper de- scribes the CE-3 data pre-processing method, the data pre-processing subsystem, data classification, data validity and data products that are used for scientific studies.

Terrain reconstruction from Chang'e-3 PCAM images

The existing terrain models that describe the local lunar surface have limited resolution and accuracy, which can hardly meet the needs of rover navigation,positioning and geological analysis. China launched the lunar probe Chang＇e-3 in December, 2013. Chang＇e-3 encompassed a lander and a lunar rover called ＂Yutu＂（Jade Rabbit）. A set of panoramic cameras were installed on the rover mast. After acquiring panoramic images of four sites that were explored, the terrain models of the local lunar surface with resolution of 0.02 m were reconstructed. Compared with other data sources, the models derived from Chang＇e-3 data were clear and accurate enough that they could be used to plan the route of Yutu.

Data processing and error analysis for the CE-1 Lunar microwave radiometer

The microwave radiometer （MRM） onboard the Chang＇ E-1 （CE-I） lu- nar orbiter is a 4-frequency microwave radiometer, and it is mainly used to obtain the brightness temperature （TB） of the lunar surface, from which the thickness, temperature, dielectric constant and other related properties of the lunar regolith can be derived. The working mode of the CE-1 MRM, the ground calibration （including the official calibration coefficients）, as well as the acquisition and processing of the raw data are introduced. Our data analysis shows that TB increases with increasing frequency, decreases towards the lunar poles and is significantly affected by solar illumination. Our analysis also reveals that the main uncertainty in TB comes from ground calibration.

Five-year in-orbit background of Insight-HXMT

Purpose We present the five-year in-orbit background evolution of Insight-HXMT since the launch,as well as the effects of the background model in data analysis.Methods The backgrounds of the three main payloads,i.e.,low-energy telescope,medium-energy telescope,and high-energy telescope,are described.The evolution of the background over time is obtained by simply comparing the background in every year during the in-orbit operation of Insight-HXMT.Results The major observational characteristics of the Insight-HXMT in-orbit background are presented,including the light curve,spectrum,geographical distribution,and long-term evolution.The systematic error in background estimation is investigated for every year.Conclusion The observational characteristics of the five-year in-orbit background are consistent with our knowledge of the satellite design and the space environment,and the background model is still valid for the latest observations of Insight-HXMT.