The Mini-EUSO telescope on board the International Space Station: Launch and first results

Discussion timeslot (ZOOM-Meeting): 15. July 2021 - 18:00
ZOOM-Meeting URL: https://desy.zoom.us/j/92210078166
ZOOM-Meeting ID: 92210078166
ZOOM-Meeting Passcode: ICRC2021
Corresponding Session: https://icrc2021-venue.desy.de/channel/07-Where-to-go-in-UHECR-observations-CRI/123
Live-Stream URL: https://icrc2021-venue.desy.de/livestream/Discussion-03/4

Abstract:
'Mini-EUSO is a detector observing the Earth in the ultraviolet band from the International Space Station. It was launched in 2019 in the framework of the "Beyond" mission and as part of an agreement between Russian and Italian space agencies.rnThe main camera has an optical system with two double-sided Fresnel lenses and a focal surface with 2304 channels and a field of view of 44$^o$. The observed bandwidth is in the range 290-430 nm, where emissions from Nitrogen de-excitation of Ultra-High Energy cosmic rays Extensive Air showers are located. The telescope observes the Earth with a pixel size of 6.3 km, sampling of 2.5μs, through a nadir-facing UV-transparent window in the Russian Zvezda module. It also has two cameras in the near infrared and visible ranges and Silicon Photomultipliers. Mini-EUSO is capable of observing Extensive Air Showers generated by Cosmic Rays with energy above 10^21 eV and detect artificial showers generated from the ground with LED flashers and lasers. Among the scientific objectives are the search for nuclearites and Strange Quark Matter, the study of atmospheric phenomena such as Transient luminous events, meteors and meteoroids, the observation of artificial satellites and man-made space debris.rnIn this talk we will present the launch, the first results and the perspectives for observations in light of the flight of EUSO-SPB2 and future missions such as K-EUSO and Poemma.'

Authors: Marco Casolino | Pavel Klimov
Collaboration: JEM-EUSO

Indico-ID: 886
Proceeding URL: https://pos.sissa.it/395/354