Space

Herschel space telescope shuts down

Herschel space telescope shuts down
Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA)
Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA)
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Herschel (Image: ESA/Media Lab)
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Herschel (Image: ESA/Media Lab)
Supernova 1987A as seen by Herschel and Hubble (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/NASA-JPL/Caltech/UCL/STScI and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA/ESA))
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Supernova 1987A as seen by Herschel and Hubble (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/NASA-JPL/Caltech/UCL/STScI and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA/ESA))
Beta Pictoris system where Herschel found traces of olivine crystals (Image: ESO/A-M. Lagrange et al)
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Beta Pictoris system where Herschel found traces of olivine crystals (Image: ESO/A-M. Lagrange et al)
Herschel cryostat vacuum vessel (Image: ESA)
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Herschel cryostat vacuum vessel (Image: ESA)
Lift-off of Ariane 5 ECA launcher with Herschel aboard (Image: ESA-CNES-Arianespace / Optique Vidéo du CSG - S. Martin)
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Lift-off of Ariane 5 ECA launcher with Herschel aboard (Image: ESA-CNES-Arianespace / Optique Vidéo du CSG - S. Martin)
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 (Image: ESA/Herschel/HssO Consortium)
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Comet 103P/Hartley 2 (Image: ESA/Herschel/HssO Consortium)
Primary mirror (Image: EADS Astrium / C.Mériaux)
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Primary mirror (Image: EADS Astrium / C.Mériaux)
Herschel (Image: ESA)
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Herschel (Image: ESA)
Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA)
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Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA)
Herschel's view of asteroid Apophis (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/MACH-11/MPE/B.Altieri (ESAC) and C. Kiss (Konkoly Observatory))
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Herschel's view of asteroid Apophis (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/MACH-11/MPE/B.Altieri (ESAC) and C. Kiss (Konkoly Observatory))
Herschel cryostat vacuum vessel (Image: ESA/AOES Medialab)
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Herschel cryostat vacuum vessel (Image: ESA/AOES Medialab)
The star Fomalhaut and its debris disc (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/Bram Acke, KU Leuven, Belgium)
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The star Fomalhaut and its debris disc (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/Bram Acke, KU Leuven, Belgium)
Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA/ AOES Medialab; background: Hubble Space Telescope image (NASA/ESA/STScI))
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Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA/ AOES Medialab; background: Hubble Space Telescope image (NASA/ESA/STScI))
Solar array and sunshade (Image: ESA)
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Solar array and sunshade (Image: ESA)
Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA/AOES Medialab)
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Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA/AOES Medialab)
Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA/ AOES Medialab; background: Hubble Space Telescope image (NASA/ESA/STScI))
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Artist's impression of Herschel (Image: ESA/ AOES Medialab; background: Hubble Space Telescope image (NASA/ESA/STScI))
Herschel build up (Image: ESA)
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Herschel build up (Image: ESA)
Herschel telesciope (Image: Astrium (P. Dumas))
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Herschel telesciope (Image: Astrium (P. Dumas))
Illustration of Herschel and Planck inside launcher fairing (Image: ESA/Guarniero)
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Illustration of Herschel and Planck inside launcher fairing (Image: ESA/Guarniero)
Herschel (Image: ESA)
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Herschel (Image: ESA)
Herschel telescope (Image: ESA)
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Herschel telescope (Image: ESA)
Orbit of Herschel/Planck (Image: ESA)
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Orbit of Herschel/Planck (Image: ESA)
The Rosette molecular cloud (Image: ESA/PACS & SPIRE Consortium/HOBYS Key Programme Consortia)
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The Rosette molecular cloud (Image: ESA/PACS & SPIRE Consortium/HOBYS Key Programme Consortia)
The Aquila Rift (Image: ESA/Herschel/SPIRE/PACS/Ph. André (CEA Saclay) for the 'Gould Belt survey' Key Programme Consortium)
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The Aquila Rift (Image: ESA/Herschel/SPIRE/PACS/Ph. André (CEA Saclay) for the 'Gould Belt survey' Key Programme Consortium)
M31 - Andromeda Galaxy in infrared, x-ray and optical (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/J.Fritz, U.Gent/XMM-Newton/EPIC/W. Pietsch, MPE/R. Gendler)
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M31 - Andromeda Galaxy in infrared, x-ray and optical (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/J.Fritz, U.Gent/XMM-Newton/EPIC/W. Pietsch, MPE/R. Gendler)
Water lines toward low-mass protostars in the NGC 1333 star-forming region (Image: ESA and the HIFI consortium; L.E. Kristensen for the WISH Key Programme. Background image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA))
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Water lines toward low-mass protostars in the NGC 1333 star-forming region (Image: ESA and the HIFI consortium; L.E. Kristensen for the WISH Key Programme. Background image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA))
PACS spectyrum of VY Canis Majoris (Image: ESA and the PACS consortium; inset: NASA, ESA, N. Smith et al)
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PACS spectyrum of VY Canis Majoris (Image: ESA and the PACS consortium; inset: NASA, ESA, N. Smith et al)
HII region RCW 120 (Image: ESA, PACS & SPIRE Consortia, A. Zavagno (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) for the Herschel HOBYS and Evolution of Interstellar Dust Key Programmes)
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HII region RCW 120 (Image: ESA, PACS & SPIRE Consortia, A. Zavagno (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) for the Herschel HOBYS and Evolution of Interstellar Dust Key Programmes)
Helium filling of Herschel (Image: ESA-CNES-Arianespace / Optique Vidéo du CSG - P. Baudon)
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Helium filling of Herschel (Image: ESA-CNES-Arianespace / Optique Vidéo du CSG - P. Baudon)
Composite PACS image of spiral galaxy M51 (Image: ESA and the PACS consortium)
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Composite PACS image of spiral galaxy M51 (Image: ESA and the PACS consortium)
Science missions of ESA (image: ESA)
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Science missions of ESA (image: ESA)
View gallery - 31 images

All good things come to an end and the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory mission is no exception. After more than three years in orbit, the most powerful infrared telescope ever flown in space has ceased scientific operations after the last of the liquid helium used to supercool its instruments ran out.

Launched from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana on 14 May, 2009 atop an Ariane 5 rocket, the Herschel was sent into what is called a Lissajous orbit 1,500,000 kilometers (930,000 miles) from Earth. In such an orbit, the spacecraft circles, not the Earth, but the Lagrangian point L2 – a spot where the gravitational forces of the Earth, Moon and Sun balance out.

M31 - Andromeda Galaxy in infrared, x-ray and optical (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/J.Fritz, U.Gent/XMM-Newton/EPIC/W. Pietsch, MPE/R. Gendler)
M31 - Andromeda Galaxy in infrared, x-ray and optical (Image: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/J.Fritz, U.Gent/XMM-Newton/EPIC/W. Pietsch, MPE/R. Gendler)

The 3,300 kilogram (7,300 lb) unmanned observatory boasts a 3,500 mm (140 in) Ritchey-Chrétien telescope with a focal length of 28.5 meters (94 ft) and operates on far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths from 60 to 670 µm.

The Herschel’s main instruments consist of the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI), which is a very high-resolution heterodyne spectrometer that works in seven bands covering wavelengths between 157 and 625 µm. The second is the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and rounding out the trio is the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE), which contains another camera and spectrometer working on a different range of infrared wavebands from the PACS.

What all three of these instruments have in common is that they need to be cooled to a temperature of -271°C (-456 F) inside a cryostat filled with 2367 liters (625 gal) of liquid superfluid helium that made up nearly 10 percent of the Herschel spacecraft’s original weight. These allowed Herschel to see into the universe’s distant past by making the detectors extremely sensitive. In addition to the liquid helium, Herschel’s solar panels formed a sunshade. The paradox of space is that even though the Sun can quickly bring the temperature of an object up to above boiling, putting it into shade sends it into hundreds of degrees below zero, though not nearly cold enough for Herschel’s instruments.

Water lines toward low-mass protostars in the NGC 1333 star-forming region (Image: ESA and the HIFI consortium; L.E. Kristensen for the WISH Key Programme. Background image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA))
Water lines toward low-mass protostars in the NGC 1333 star-forming region (Image: ESA and the HIFI consortium; L.E. Kristensen for the WISH Key Programme. Background image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Gutermuth (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA))

The helium was expected to eventually evaporate away and finally ran out on Monday afternoon (April 29, 2013) as Herschel was starting its daily communication session with a ground station in Western Australia. A clear rise was seen in all the instruments, which soon stopped working.

The primary objective of the Herschel telescope was to study star formation both in our galaxy and out to the limits of observation on the edge of the visible universe and dating some 14 billion years ago. In addition to surveying thousands of galaxies, it also was used study planet formation in systems closer to Earth, molecules in interstellar space, as well as asteroids and comets in our Solar System.

According to ESA, Herschel did its job well. “Herschel has exceeded all expectations, providing us with an incredible treasure trove of data that that will keep astronomers busy for many years to come,” said Prof. Alvaro Giménez Cañete, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.

The Rosette molecular cloud (Image: ESA/PACS & SPIRE Consortium/HOBYS Key Programme Consortia)
The Rosette molecular cloud (Image: ESA/PACS & SPIRE Consortium/HOBYS Key Programme Consortia)

Among its accomplishments, Herschel produced evidence that galaxies in the first billions of years of the universe contributed many more stars than previously thought, shone new light on the part played by dark matter and filaments in the formation of galaxies, suggested that supermassive black holes may affect star formation by removing gases from galaxies by means of radiation pressure. It also studied phenomenon such as the debris halo around the star Fomalhaut, which resembles our Solar System’s Kuiper Belt and may give clues to the formation of the planets.

Furthermore, Herschel’s study of nebulae and dust disks around protostars indicate the existence of enough water in individual examples to fill the Earth’s oceans a million times over.

Herschel telescope (Image: ESA)
Herschel telescope (Image: ESA)

“Herschel has offered us a new view of the hitherto hidden Universe, pointing us to a previously unseen process of star birth and galaxy formation, and allowing us to trace water through the Universe from molecular clouds to newborn stars and their planet-forming discs and belts of comets,” said Göran Pilbratt, ESA’s Herschel Project Scientist..

The Herschel Space Observatory has returned over 35,000 scientific observations, more than 25,000 hours of data from about 600 observing programs and 2000 hours of calibration observations. According to ESA, this archive is so extensive that it is expected to produce more discoveries over time than during the mission itself. Meanwhile, Herschel will remain in communication with Earth for a few weeks while tests are carried out it. The spacecraft is then to be propelled to a stable parking orbit around the Sun, where it will remain for centuries.

The video below shows the construction of the Herschel Space Observatory.

Source: ESA

Looking inside Herschel

View gallery - 31 images
10 comments
10 comments
Skywoolf
Err somebody correct me if I am wrong but why do they need liquid helium to cool the instruments when the surrounding temperature is around absolute zero?
Siegfried Gust
Skywoolf,
While the ambient temps are very low, solar radiation still keeps them higher than the sensors need.
Drew Rose
I love these posts. Yea the watches I will never be able to afford and the plethora of pointless "I" accessories are great to look at but this article, to me, has substance. Thank you for the post.
Bob Ehresman
I wonder if Herschel is of the generation of satellites designed to be serviceable? I wonder what the bounty would be for a refill?
StWils
Not only am I interested in knowing if Herschel was deigned to be capable of remote service but next I question why send it somewhere else to park? Why not leave it at L2 until a robotic service vehicle can be built and sent to refill the helium? Low Earth Orbit, LEO, space is filled with junk, debris, and dead satellites but not L2. When Herschel was built it may not have seemed practical to plan for a service mission but since then the technology and skills to remotely service a vehicle has improved to the point that a service mission may well be reasonable & affordable.
jayedwin98020
Too bad they couldn't have refilled the liquid helium tanks, to keep the telescope operational.
Yo NASA, where's shuttle program when we need it!
David Bell
Servicing missions (especially Shuttle-based) to Earth-Sun L2 are too far out to be practical. The E-S L2 point is on the line from the Sun through Earth, outwards some 930,000 miles, almost 4 times the distance to the Moon. STS orbits were never more than 400 nautical miles...
Gregg Eshelman
Leave it in place and get cracking on a plan to swap out the IR equipment with optical equipment. A replacement is needed for Hubble. That would also be a perfect project to develop and demonstrate unmanned satellite service techniques.
The Skud
There must be some sort of plan around to resupply. I know the makers/designers would not have foreseen the demise of the Shuttle program, but surely - perhaps with added-on booster altitude jets, it could be moved to higher orbit to gain a few years till it could be worked on properly. If they can resupply the Space Station, surely a couple of astronauts with decent environment packages could go up in the supply rocket hold, be "dropped off" to work and come back a few days later? Even with a 'spare' rocket sent up first, waiting for the return flight, the investment would pay big dividends later.
Les LaZar
Keep in mind that Hershel is 930,000 miles from Earth. The Moon is only about 250,000 miles away. Since the Apollo missions to the Moon, manned spaceflight has been confined to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), defined roughly as 99 to 1200 miles above the planet's surface.
While it might be physically possible to bring the observatory into LEO, and refuel the Helium and propellant tanks so that it could return to L2, it might also be less costly to build and launch a whole new observatory from scratch, with newer technology to boot.