3.3 Instrumentation
3.3.1 Instruments
The instruments to be carried on board the probe head are as follows:
- IR Imagers
- Visual Imagers
- UV Telescopes
- High-energy Particle Detectors
- Astrometrical Telescopes
- Wide-Band Spectrophotometers
- Magnetometers
- Solar Wind Plasma Analyzers
- Communications Lasers
Three of each item will be carried on the spacecraft for triple redundancy.
The total weight of the instrumentation package (including everything listed, except the communications lasers) is estimated at not more than 3 metric tons. The estimated weight of the communications lasers is 2 metric tons. The peak power requirement of the instruments is estimated at 300 kW.
The justification for the visual imagers is obvious. Everyone will want to "see" what another star system looks like. In addition to providing important scientific information, a picture will be worth a thousand words or a thousand pages of numbers when it comes to obtaining funding for follow-up missions to other star systems.
IR Imagers and UV Telescopes will provide the first exact data on the characteristics of stars
