The CASTOR mission

CASTOR is a proposed wide-field ( 30 ′ × 30 ′ = 0.25 deg <sup>2</sup> ), high-resolution ( FWHM ∼ 0.15 ′′ ), 1-m-diameter space telescope that is under development by the Canadian Space Agency and the National Research Council of Canada. Optimized for UV/blue-optical wavelengths, the telescope uses dichroics to enable imaging in three channels (and up to five bands) that cover the 0.15 to 0.55 μ m spectral region, simultaneously. CASTOR will also feature low- and low-medium-resolution spectroscopic capabilities through the use of a deployable grism for low-resolution ( R ≲ 420 ) slit-less spectroscopy in its UV and u channels, and low-medium-resolution R ∼ 1400 multi-object spectroscopy in a parallel field using a digital micro-mirror device. High-speed, precision photometry will be possible using dedicated CMOS detectors in each of its three channels. We present an overview of the mission, including the optical design, instruments and detectors, payload layout, satellite bus, orbit, and ground segment. We describe the mission’s scientific capabilities and expected place within the astronomical landscape in the 2030s. The 5-year lifetime is baselined on a combination of legacy surveys, guest observer programs, and target-of-opportunity science. We summarize scientific plans for the mission in each of eight fields: cosmology, time domain and multi-messenger science, active galactic nuclei, galaxies, near-field cosmology, stellar astrophysics, exoplanets, and solar system studies. We conclude by describing ongoing development efforts, highlighting areas of particular relevance for NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems
Published
2025-05-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jatis.11.4.042202
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Spacecraft Design and Technology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.99

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article

The CASTOR mission

Gaël Noirot, Viraja Khatu, Will J. Percival, Ian Hutchinson et al.
1 citations
Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems
Spacecraft Design and Technology
4.99
article

The CASTOR mission

Gaël Noirot, Viraja Khatu, Will J. Percival, Ian Hutchinson, Yaël Nazé, Laura Ferrarese, Sungsoon Lim, Ben Dryer, Ivan Wevers, M. Fraser, Renée Hložek, Kristy E. H. Michaud, Dustin Lang, Martin Hellmich, P. Dufour, Nicole M. Ford, Nathalie Ouellette, Toby Brown, P. A. Crowther, J. B. Hutchings, Catherine Heymans, Peter Bartosik, S. Ganesh, Kanak Saha, Julio F. Navarro, Peter Cameron, Federico Sestito, Katherine J. Mack, Marielle R. Eduardo, N. Raza, Yanqin Wu, V. Hénault-Brunet, Ryan Cloutier, Jeremy Heyl, Ting S. Li, Annapurni Subramaniam, Dmitry Vorobiev, Michael L. Balogh, J. P. J. Doherty, C. Lawlor-Forsyth, Gwendolyn M. Eadie, Evan McDonough, Kim A. Venn, Erik Rosolowsky, Dhananjhay Bansal, Takashi J. Moriya, Harry I. Teplitz, Victoria Scowcroft, Paul Wiegert, Allison W. S. Man, Alan W. McConnachie, S. Fabbro, Samir Salim, Nicholas Vieira, Surhud More, Boris Gaensicke, Harald Bluhm, J. Skottfelt, M. A. Barstow, Eric Huff, Anahita Alavi, Kyle Finner, Bethany Ludwig, Madeline A. Marshall, Ivana Damjanov, Robert Sorba, Stanimir Metchev, Denis Laurin, Hossen Teimoorinia, G. R. Sivakoff, R.P. Wierckx, Charles Shapiro, Patrick Côté, Hum Chand, M. S. Oey, Suresh G. Thadani, J. Lapington, Frédéric Grandmont, Greg Burley, John Pazder, S. C. Gallagher, Oleg Djazovski, Or Graur, Jennifer Glover, Sarah Rugheimer, Harvey B. Richer, Vicente Estrada-Carpenter, Robert G. Mann, M. N. Kozun, James Sikora, Ikuru Iwata, S. Aigrain, Alain Cournoyer, Nick Kuzmin, Deborah Lokhorst, Doug Johnstone, Tyrone E. Woods, Isaac Cheng, Joel Roediger, L. Y. Aaron Yung, Laurence Perreault-Levasseur, Michelle Kao, Sean McGee, Wesley C. Fraser, Paul Harrison, D. A. Leahy, Marcin Sawicki, Alex I. Malz, Cameron Morgan, A. Tohuvavohu, Samar Safí-Harb, Ana I. Gómez de Castro, Andrew D. Holland, Cyrielle Opitom, Smitha Subramanian, T. Moutard, R. G. Carlberg, Martin Bergeron, Ronan Legin, J. J. Kavelaars, Patrick Smith, Jason F. Rowe, Daniel P. Stern, Himanshu Sharma, Jessie L. Christiansen, R. D. McKenzie, Daryl Haggard, M. L. Graham, John Hennessy, David G. Morris, Aaron Dotter, Jeremy J. Webb, P. Gandhi, Kristen C. Dage, Nolan Dickson, M. R. Drout, Tim Hardy, April D. Jewell, G. T. Richards, John J. Ruan, Michael E. Hoenk, Bryan R. Scott, Angaraj Duara, Andreas L. Faisst, Ryan Hamel, David R. Miller, Yashar Hezaveh, Jo Bovy, Simon Blouin, Emily Pass, P. Morris, Laurie Amen, Melissa Amenouche, Yuyang Chen, Charles Lee, Carmelle Robert, Rubén Sánchez-Janssen, Todd Jones, Sukyoung K. Yi, T. Sivarani, Ludo van Waerbeke, Frédéric Zamkotsian, Matt Nicholl, Jason Rhodes, Maia Jones, Joe Postma, Jade Yeung, Warren Soh, Alan Scott, M. Vivek, M. Espinosa, J. Dupuis, Shouleh Nikzad, Matt Taylor, Kaitlyn Hessel, Justin Larivière, Vivek Oad, Wasi Naqvi, David Thilke
article en
1 citations

Abstract

CASTOR is a proposed wide-field ( 30 ′ × 30 ′ = 0.25 deg <sup>2</sup> ), high-resolution ( FWHM ∼ 0.15 ′′ ), 1-m-diameter space telescope that is under development by the Canadian Space Agency and the National Research Council of Canada. Optimized for UV/blue-optical wavelengths, the telescope uses dichroics to enable imaging in three channels (and up to five bands) that cover the 0.15 to 0.55 μ m spectral region, simultaneously. CASTOR will also feature low- and low-medium-resolution spectroscopic capabilities through the use of a deployable grism for low-resolution ( R ≲ 420 ) slit-less spectroscopy in its UV and u channels, and low-medium-resolution R ∼ 1400 multi-object spectroscopy in a parallel field using a digital micro-mirror device. High-speed, precision photometry will be possible using dedicated CMOS detectors in each of its three channels. We present an overview of the mission, including the optical design, instruments and detectors, payload layout, satellite bus, orbit, and ground segment. We describe the mission’s scientific capabilities and expected place within the astronomical landscape in the 2030s. The 5-year lifetime is baselined on a combination of legacy surveys, guest observer programs, and target-of-opportunity science. We summarize scientific plans for the mission in each of eight fields: cosmology, time domain and multi-messenger science, active galactic nuclei, galaxies, near-field cosmology, stellar astrophysics, exoplanets, and solar system studies. We conclude by describing ongoing development efforts, highlighting areas of particular relevance for NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and SystemsVol. 11(04)
University College Dublin (IE), Dartmouth College (US), Northwestern University (US), Bishop's University (CA), Physical Research Laboratory (IN), California Institute of Technology (US), Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA), Western University (CA), Queen's University Belfast (GB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Space Telescope Science Institute (US), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IN), University of British Columbia (CA), Johns Hopkins University (US), University of Waterloo (CA), University of Leicester (GB), University of Ottawa (CA), University of Alberta (CA), University of Liège (BE), University of Calgary (CA), Central University of Himachal Pradesh (IN), Perimeter Institute (CA), University of Toronto (CA), York University (CA), Yonsei University (KR), National Institutes of Natural Sciences (JP), University of Washington (US), The Open University (GB), Curtin University (AU), University of Victoria (CA), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), University of Michigan (US), Canadian Space Agency (CA), Magellan Aerospace (Canada) (CA), University of Warwick (GB), University of Oxford (GB), Teledyne e2v (United Kingdom) (GB), Royal Observatory (GB), Michigan United (US), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (US), Indiana University Bloomington (US), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), ABB (Canada) (CA), Honeywell (Canada) (CA), Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (US), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP), International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (AU), Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (US), Université Laval (CA), University of Southampton (GB), City University of Seattle (US), University of Manitoba (CA), UK Astronomy Technology Centre (GB), McGill University (CA), University of Bath (GB), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IN), University of Portsmouth (GB), Saint Mary's University (CA), Université de Montréal (CA), Drexel University (US), Carnegie Mellon University (US), University of Birmingham (GB), The University of Winnipeg (CA), University of Sheffield (GB), McMaster University (CA), University of Edinburgh (GB)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Canadian Space Agency, National Research Council Canada
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Spacecraft Design and Technology
4.99
DOISourceOpenAlex
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