Herschel-Planck
The study of the Universe and how it was
formed is the driving force behind the two space science missions,
Herschel and Planck. Scheduled to launch in 2009, both satellites
will separate soon after launch, and will set off for their own
specific missions. Herschel will be the largest space telescope of
3.5m in diameter and will orbit around a point beyond the Moon know
as the second Lagrangian Point. Its objective is to collect
long-wavelength infrared radiation from some of the coolest and
most distant objects in the Universe.
Planck will have a four month journey and
reach its orbit 1.5 million km from the Earth, and look at the
shockwaves of the ‘Big-Bang’ or ‘Cosmic Microwave Background’. It
will analyse clues about how clusters of galaxies and even
individual galaxies formed.
VEGA has been working on the Herschel-Planck
programme for many years. Our scientists and software engineers
based at ESTEC have been working on
various aspects of these missions, covering the areas of instrument
calibration science for both the HIFI and SPIRE instruments on
Herschel and community support science for the overall mission. We
have also been involved in system developments, data processing and
planning tools. We have developed the mission simulator and played
a key role in the operations preparation at ESOC.