The EUSO-TA detector: status and performance

Abstract

EUSO-TA is an on-ground telescope, located at the Telescope Array (TA) site in Black Rock Mesa, Utah, USA. The main aim of the instrument is observation of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays through detection of ultraviolet light generated by cosmic-ray showers. EUSO-TA consists of two, 1 m 2 Fresnel lenses with a field of view of about 11 • × 11 •. Light is focused on the Photo Detector Module composed of 36 Hamamatsu multi-anode photomultipliers, for a total of 2304 channels. The telescope is housed in a shed located in front of the TA Fluorescent Detector. We present the results from 5 observational campaigns of EUSO-TA, including detected cosmic rays and meteors. Also shown are the studies done with dedicated artificial light sources, such as LEDs and lasers.

EUSO-SPB1 Mission and Science

“…(For reference, NASA requires that flight ready balloon payloads must be able to tolerate jolts of 0.5 g during transfer to the launch pad.) In the desert the trailer served as the field enclosure for EUSO-SPB1 and was positioned next to the EUSO-TA prototype [31] for coincident observations. The dolly was tilted up to point the detector's optical axis about 8 • above the horizon.…”

First observations of speed of light tracks by a fluorescence detector looking down on the atmosphere

“…Further space instruments in the design stage are KLYPVE-EUSO [2] and POEMMA [3]. Various prototypes are being developed for the JEM-EUSO mission [4][5][6]. The first one looking down onto the atmosphere, was EUSO-Balloon.…”

Mini-EUSO: a precursor mission to observe Atmosphere and Earth UV emission from the International Space Station

“…Mini-EUSO, aiming at the observation and measurement of the UV night emissions from the Earth, is being developed as a pathfinder and a precursor of the planned options for UHECR experiments in space -such as KLYPVE/K-EUSO [1] on the Russian module of the International Space Station (ISS) -and of future missions under study by the JEM-EUSO Collaboration. It comes as a next step in the road-map of JEM-EUSO together with other test experiments developed and carried out by the JEM-EUSO Collaboration, like EUSO-TA [2], EUSO-Balloon [3] and EUSO-SPB [4]. The Mini-EUSO mission, originated as a joint project between Italy and Russia, was selected in Italy by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and is supported by the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN); then, under the name "UV atmosphere", it was approved by the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos and included in the long-term program of space experiments on the ISS.…”