CASTOR update

By Patrick Côté (NRC-Herzberg), Tyrone Woods (University of Manitoba)

  • The Coalition for Canadian Astronomy. The Coalition for Canadian Astronomy — which brings together representatives from the astronomical community (CASCA), the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA) and industry — has the goal of securing federal funding for projects endorsed by the LRP. Since mid 2023, the Coalition has been heavily engaged in lobbying for the CASTOR mission as the last of the three major astronomy infrastructure projects from LRP2010 and LRP2020 (VLOT and SKA being the others). A joint letter of support from Canada’s space industry community which emerged earlier this year continues to be an invaluable part of this effort. Coalition members continue to meet with members of parliament, as well with the presidents of NRC and CSA, to move the mission forward. The immediate, urgent priority continues to be the approval of a mission-defining Phase A study (and associated technology development) that would include formal agreements with international partners who await this critical next step.
  • A highly productive CASTOR Technical Meeting was held in Victoria on November 12-14, with nearly three-dozen attendees from across Canada, the UK, USA and France. The meeting brought together researchers working on technology and software development under the UKSA CASTOR Bilateral Programme, NRC Small Teams project and other initiatives. Topics included an overview of the mission status and schedule; a summary of technical outcomes from the recently completed CSA Space Technology Development Program study; data archiving and processing efforts; survey scheduling simulations; simulations of the in-orbit performance of CASTOR’s expected flight detectors; simulations of the expected radiation environment and required detector shielding; a review of grating, DMD, and coating technologies for the UV; first results from CIS120 detector testing programs in Canada and the UK; a progress report on dichroic and coating approaches for red leak mitigation; a progress report on upgrades of the University of Calgary Vacuum UV Laboratory; a progress report on the development of readout and control electronics; a plan for space qualification of CASTOR’s flight detectors; and plans and priorities for the next steps in mission development.
  • Detector Testing and Characterization Program. Upgrades to the vacuum ultraviolet calibration facility at the University of Calgary have been underway throughout most of 2024. This specialized facility is designed for testing and calibration of detectors that operate at UV wavelengths. Major upgrades have been carried out since the facility was last used for testing of the flight detectors for the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on Astrosat, which was launched in 2015 and continues to operate. Delta-doped CIS120 CMOS detectors from Teledyne-e2v and JPL have now been delivered to the facility, along with readout electronics provided by NRC-HAA; a test plan is now in place that will see testing and characterization carried out through most of 2025.
  • CASTOR Overview Paper. In 2025, the Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments and Systems (JATIS) will publish a special issue entitled “Ultraviolet Science and Instrumentation: On the Way to Habitable Worlds Observatory and Beyond”. The CASTOR team has submitted an invited review for the mission, highlighting the current design, science plan, and ongoing technology development — with a focus on synergies with NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory (to be launched in the 2040s). The large number of coauthors (>160) reflects the many individuals who have contributed to the scientific, technical and programmatic development of the mission since 2010.
  • Science Planning Tools. Students and postdocs continue to lead the development of a suite of science planning tools (FORECASTOR: Finding Optics Requirements and Exposure times for CASTOR). Ongoing projects include customized Pyxel-based simulations of the in-orbit performance of CASTOR’s expected flight detectors (led by Wasi Naqvi, UBC Okanagan) and an extensive suite of tools for implementation and scheduling of CASTOR’s legacy surveys (led by Michelle Kao, Waterloo), including a detailed trade study for CASTOR’s ground station network.
  • Mid Term Review. The 2025 Mid Term Review of LRP2020 is now underway. MTR2025 “will offer an assessment of the status of the LRP2020 recommendations, an analysis of new opportunities, and recommendations to address emerging issues.” The CASTOR project has updated the MTR panel and JCSA on the mission status, new opportunities since LR2020, plans for future development, contributions from international partners as well as the expected schedule and timeline.

For more information on the mission, see https://www.castormission.org

 

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