Mid-infrared spatial filtering to enable the search for extrasolar life. This project aims to create the key missing technology of mid-infrared high-efficiency spatial filtering for detecting life on

Description

Mid-infrared spatial filtering to enable the search for extrasolar life. This project aims to create the key missing technology of mid-infrared high-efficiency spatial filtering for detecting life on planets like Earth, the European Space Agency's priority theme. This proposal plans to accelerate the search for life by suppressing starlight as a noise source at infrared wavelengths, to unveil distinctive characteristics of Earth-like exoplanets. The expected outcome is the fabrication of a spatial filtering technology capable of covering the 3 - 18.5 micron region in no more than two devices. The expected benefits are the involvement of Australia in the most important space missions of the next decades and the enhancement of applied photonics technology in our society.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences. Lead: Prof Michael Ireland