NIAC is supporting a telescope that could find an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone around a Sun-like star within 30 light years - by AndyTomaswick
Diffraction gratings are commonly used in spectrometers, where they split light into its constituent wavelengths, effectively creating a rainbow from a single beam of light. In the case of DICER, each of these diffraction gratings is 10s of meters in length. However, that is still small enough to fit completely in a modern-day rocket fairing.
It also doesn’t require close coordination between disparate components, such as alternative mission designs that try to utilize other design principles to skirt around the fairing limit. However, it does require massive supporting infrastructure as part of the telescope, such as a coronagraph that is capable of blocking out the light from a star.
The end result of all this technological wizardry would be a telescope in space that could effectively see exoplanets that were orbiting in the habitable zones of their parent Sun-like stars up to 30 light years away. In effect, it would be capable of finding the closest thing yet to a second home for us.
Earth is just the baseline of the types of planets we might find in a Sun-like star’s habitable zones. There might be worlds that are even better. There’s still a long way to go before it gets to that point though. NIAC supports very early-stage projects, and there doesn’t seem to be much more than an idea and a basic proof of concept design supporting this one so far. As it attracts more resources, that might change, with new team members and new feasibility studies beginning. Dr.
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