SPICA: a new space telescope for mid- and far-infrared astronomy Original Research Article

We present the concept of the SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics, previously known as HII/L2) mission, which incorporates a 3.5 m telescope cooled to 4.5 K. SPICA will focus on high-resolution mid- to far-infrared observations with unprecedented sensitivity. It will make great contributions to our understanding of basic astronomical questions, such as the history of star-formation in the universe, the birth and evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), the formation of planets in extrasolar systems, and the history of our solar system. We propose a “warm launch” cooled telescope concept for SPICA; the telescope is to be launched at ambient temperature and is to be cooled in orbit to 4.5 K by a modest mechanical cooler system with the assistance of effective radiative cooling. SPICA is proposed to be launched into a halo orbit around one (L2) of the Sun-Earth libration points in 2010.