U of L Physics Professor Moving From One Space Mission To Another
LETHBRIDGE - A space imaging mission that sent a U of L physics research device into deep
space is nearing an end.
The helium filled gas tank cooling the equipment on the Herschel Space
Observatory is expected to run dry over the next few weeks. An instrument
created by U of L Physics and Astronomy professor Dr. David Naylor and his team
is attached to the Herschel telescope system.
However, as this mission winds down, Naylor is already onto the next project.
He's in the Netherlands for a conference working on the next generation version
of the device that's planned to launch in 2020. The project is called SPICA, which stands for Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics.
It's a bitter sweet moment for Naylor. He says "it's going to be a sad day
when it runs out of helium but we knew it was coming and it's success has been
so much that it's already beget SPICA so what more can you ask for that a space
mission so impresses the worlds community that it encourages them to build
something even better."
Naylor says the new space telescope will allow them "to explore 1000 times
more space than Herschel, and Herschel has blown our socks off." Posted on Friday, March 08, 2013 at 5/25/2013 3:51:10 PM
Source: Tristan Tuckett - Country 95 News - Photo: Dr. David Nayler explains how Herschels "gas tank" is going to run dry
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