IAU02185
Presentation type requested: ORAL
THE ASTRO-F MISSION
Hiroshi Shibai
Nagoya University
ASTRO-F is the first Japanese satellite dedicated to infrared astronomy. The primary purpose of this project is to investigate the birth and evolution of galaxies in the early universe through deep, wide-field surveys at wavelengths ranging from 2 to 200 microns. In the far-infrared wavelength band, ASTRO-F will conduct an all-sky survey like the IRAS survey with several tens of times higher sensitivity and several times better spatial resolution. In the near- and mid-infrared, wide area sky-surveys will be conducted over pre-selected portions of the sky in 13 bands ranging from 2-200microns. In addition to these photometric surveys, low-resolution spectroscopic capabilities are available for all wavelength bands. The ASTRO-F mission will produce a fundamental database for the next generation of advanced observatories, for example Herschel, and JWST, and will complement the SIRTF mission by virtue of its wide sky coverage. The launch by an M-V rocket is scheduled for February in 2004.
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