A high-sensitivity camera equipped with an electronic core, which ABB participated in the development of, will be mounted on the NASA space telescope and launched in 2025.
The NASA Future Space Observatory’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch in 2025 to explore other Earth-like worlds.
The Roman telescope will carry two pieces of equipment. One is to study the mystery of the distribution of dark energy in the universe, and the other is the CoronaGraph Imager (CGI), the first dedicated camera for imaging alien planets in space. Inside the CGI, two high-sensitivity cameras with an electronic core developed jointly by ABB with Nüvü, an image solution company, are installed.
The extrasolar system is extremely difficult to observe from a distance. This is because the planets are very blurry compared to nearby stars and are very close to each other. NASA’s CGI allows optical elements to be arranged in combination to block light from stars and transmit residual light from adjacent planets to high-sensitivity cameras. ABB and Nüvü’s unique imaging solutions play a role in revealing singularities in outer space that were previously unobservable.
Marc Corriveau, head of measurement and analysis at ABB’s Canadian subsidiary, said, “The Roman Telescope Mission is a $3.2 billion (about 3.4 trillion won) project and is 100 to 1,000 times more powerful than the current shooting of extraterrestrial planetary images on the ground.” We are proud to supply important parts for this groundbreaking mission.”
Olivier Daigle, Chief Technology Officer Nüvü Camēras, said, “The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) space technology development program is sufficiently complete to be considered by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Research Institute. I am very grateful to be the part.”
The contract order from ABB follows the order of GHGSAT, a private satellite observation company, and this contract is to supply a special optical sensor that can capture high-definition images of methane gas leaks on the ground.
ABB optics has already accumulated over 90 years of reliable operation in outer space. Since 2003, the SCISAT sensor, Canada’s largest agency, has closely tracked changes in the long-term components of more than 60 molecules and pollutants in the Earth’s atmosphere, down to trillions.
Recently, ABB technology played a pivotal role in the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar orbit satellites. Based on this, meteorological agencies around the world are forecasting the weather. This technology improves the timeliness and accuracy of weather forecasts up to 7 days. In addition, ABB sensors are mounted on Japanese GOSAT No. 1 and No. 2 satellites to closely observe the gradual increase in global greenhouse gases since 2009.