Uniqueness Of The IRTF For NASA Missions And Planetary Astronomy

Details Uniqueness Of The IRTF For NASA Missions And Planetary Astronomy Uniqueness Of The IRTF For NASA Missions And Planetary Astronomy

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.1613t&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #16.13

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility is situated at one of the best observing sites in the world and is a key resource for the Planetary Astronomy program. The IRTF provides three essential roles: (1) Timely ground-based observations in support of planetary missions, including Cassini, New Horizons, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Express, LCROSS, DAWN, MESSENGER , and Venus Express. (2) A dedicated telescope facility for the planetary astronomers and space scientists. (3) A training facility and platform for new instrumentation. Observing periods as short as one hour are routinely scheduled with remote observing for time-critical observations. In addition long-term observations can extend for over several decades, as has been the case for synoptic observations of Jupiter, Saturn, and Io. The IRTF also allows rapid response to changing research needs that are driven by new discoveries. We describe on-going improvements to the facility and instrumentation and an overview of mission support activities during the next decade. We acknowledge the support of NASA Cooperative Agreement no. NNX08AE38A with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Planetary Astronomy Program.

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