The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM), is a NASA mission scheduled for launch in 2010, which will make astrometric observations to determine the positions and distances of stars several hundred times more accurately than any previous program. This accuracy will allow SIM to determine the distances to stars throughout the galaxy and to probe nearby stars for Earth-like planets. SIM will open a window to a new world of discoveries.
This breakthrough in capabilities is possible because SIM will use an advanced form of optical interferometry. Pioneered by Albert Michelson, optical interferometry can fulfill its full potential only outside the distorting effects of Earth's atmosphere. There, it can use processes called aperture synthesis and nulling interferometry to combine light from two or more telescopes as if they were pieces of a single, gigantic telescope mirror. Developed for use in space with SIM, this technique will eventually lead to the development of telescopes powerful enough to take images of Earth-like extrasolar planets orbiting distant stars and to determine whether these planets sustain life as we know it. SIM's astrometric measurements of position, parallax, and proper motion will also significantly increase the accuracy of measurements of continental drift, and aid in the deterimination of the age of the universe.
SIM is being developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under contract with NASA and in close collaboration with two industry partners, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale, California, and Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California. SIM is considered a technological predecessor to the planned Terrestrial Planet Finder Mission.
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Last updated: 10-18-2005 07:17:45
