The University of Western Ontario

Published purpose

The project seeks to advance the readiness of the Photometric Observations of Exoplanet Transits (POET) mission. POET is a proposed mission to detect extrasolar planets and to characterize their atmospheres. The main objectives of the proposed project, which is a pre-cursor to POET, are to: (1) validate the astronomical use of the shortwavelength infrared camera in a near-space environment (a high-altitude stratospheric balloon), and (2) train junior members of the POET team in conducting a space-like mission. The validation of commercial infrared cameras for accurate observations would pave the way for their adoption in space and could lower the cost for space-based remote sensing.