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Topic: Terrestrial Planet Finder

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	Jet Propulsion Laboratory
		Terrestrial Planet Finder will take family portraits of stars and their orbiting planets and determine which planets may have the right chemistry to sustain life.
		One great challenge is how to detect planets against the blinding glare of their parent star, an effort that has been compared to trying to find a firefly in the glare of a searchlight.
		Terrestrial Planet Finder will reduce the glare of parent stars to see planetary systems up to 50 light-years away.
	www.jpl.nasa.gov /missions/proposed/tpf.html (296 words)

	Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF)
		Our understanding of the properties of terrestrial planets will be scientifically most valuable within a broader framework that includes the properties of all planetary system constituents, including both gas giant and terrestrial planets and debris disks.
		TPF's ability to carry out a program of comparative planet studies across a range of planetary masses and orbital locations in a large number of new solar systems is by itself an important scientific motivation for the mission.
		TPF will take the form of two separate and complementary observatories:: a coronagraph operating at visible wavelengths and a large-baseline interferometer operating in the infrared.
	www.daviddarling.info /encyclopedia/T/TPF.html (462 words)

	terrestrial planet - HighBeam Encyclopedia
		terrestrial planet the earth or a planet that resembles the earth in its physical characteristics.
		The terrestrial planets in the solar system are the earth, Mercury, Venus, and Mars ; Pluto is sometimes also classified as a terrestrial planet.
		A bibliography of Idaho freshwater and terrestrial mollusks.
	www.encyclopedia.com /doc/1E1-terrestr.html (396 words)

	Terrestrial Planet Finder: Earth-like Planets
		We are looking for planets that are nearly twins of Earth, but some differences are expected because of the planet's size, environment, and history.
		Such planets will be found quite close to their star, where the temperatures are too high for the planet to be mainly made of ice.
		Cool planets will be brighter at the long wavelength end of their spectrum; hot planets will be brighter at the short wavelength end.
	tpf.jpl.nasa.gov /earthlike/earth-like.html (175 words)

	Terrestrial planet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		A terrestrial planet or telluric planet is a planet that is primarily composed of silicate rocks.
		Terrestrial planets are substantially different from gas giants, which might not have solid surfaces and are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium, and water existing in various physical states.
		Terrestrial planets possess secondary atmospheres -- atmospheres generated through internal vulcanism or comet impacts, as opposed to the gas giants, which possess primary atmospheres -- atmospheres captured directly from the original solar nebula.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Terrestrial_planet (830 words)

	Planet Quest: Missions - Terrestrial Planet Finder (via CobWeb/3.1 planetlab2.cs.umd.edu) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-03)
		Terrestrial Planet Finder comprises two complementary observatories: a visible-light coronagraph (left) and a formation-flying infrared interferometer.
		The decadal committee recommended that NASA go ahead with TPF, but with the caveat that precursor missions should confirm the expectation that terrestrial planets are common around solar-type stars.
		The survey also noted the importance and challenges of building a Terrestrial Planet Finder, and noted that the success of precursor missions and technology must first be demonstrated.
	planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov.cob-web.org:8888 /TPF/tpf_what_is.cfm (602 words)

	Spaceflight Now \| Breaking News \| NASA chooses two concepts for planet-finder mission
		The two architectures were determined to be sufficiently realistic to warrant further study and technological development in support of a launch of Terrestrial Planet Finder by the middle of the next decade.
		Terrestrial Planet Finder is part of NASA's Origins Program, a series of missions to study the formation of galaxies, stars and planets, and to search for life.
		JPL manages the Terrestrial Planet Finder mission and the Origins Program for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
	www.spaceflightnow.com /news/n0205/11planetfinder (882 words)

	Astrobiology Magazine
		The first mission objective of the Terrestrial Planet Finder is to hone in on the zone where a terrestrial planet could have liquid water on its surface, and directly image any terrestrial planets in that zone.
		The Terrestrial Planet Finder originally was envisioned as a mid-infrared mission, because it was thought that mid-infrared wavelengths would be the best way to search for extrasolar Earths around nearby stars.
		In the mid-infrared, planets emit their own light, while the light from the star is tailing off, so the contrast shown for the mid-infrared is better than in the optical.
	www.astrobio.net /news/print.php?sid=1519 (1476 words)

	Detailed information on Terrestrial Planet Finder
		TPF will study structures on the scale of a few tenths of an AU to investigate how gaseous (Jupiter-like) and rocky (Earth-like) planets form out of disk material.
		TPF will investigate whether, as theory predicts, rocky planets form in warmer regions and gaseous planets in colder regions while a solar system is being born.
		TPF can investigate many other astronomical objects where pictures 100 times more detailed than those from the Hubble Space Telescope can, are critical to understanding the processes.
	freespace.virgin.net /d.finn/terrestrial-planet-finder.html (848 words)

	Dagny Looper
		Since extrasolar planets are relatively small and do not have an intrinsic source of visible light, astronomers cannot currently observe them using direct methods, such as imaging, which produce the magnificent pictures of solar system planets.
		One eventual goal among planet seekers is to be able to detect these much smaller bodies within the habitable zone of a star (the area around a star where the temperature is such that liquid water can exist and may be capable of supporting life).
		While the main focus of the Terrestrial Planet Finder is to identify and study Earth analogs, the mission will also study planet formation from the initial stage of a protostar burgeoning from a dust-gas disk to the later stage of planets forming from material in the circumstellar disk.
	www.its.caltech.edu /~sciwrite/journal03/A-L/looper.html (2326 words)

	SPACE.com -- Double Vision: Two Telescopes for Hunting Earth-like Planets
		President Bush included the development of advanced telescopes for extrasolar planet hunts in his January 14 speech, during which he also called for the retirement of the space shuttle and a return of returning humans to the moon and on to Mars.
		The TPF effort seeks to determine the specific characteristics of any atmosphere present around a planet and develop an understanding of whether the world does or could ever have harbored life.
		The TPF coronagraph is expected to be a planetary pathfinder, conducting complete surveys of up to 50 stars, and partially studying another 50.
	www.space.com /businesstechnology/technology/tpf_techwed_040526.html (1223 words)

	[18.10] Planetary Science and the Terrestrial Planet Finder Mission
		The Terrestrial Planet Finder Mission (TPF), is a cornerstone mission of the NASA Origins Program, and is currently scheduled for launch in the 2015 time frame.
		The principal scientific goal of the TPF mission is to detect and characterize terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars, and to search for planetary-scale photometric and spectroscopic signs of habitability and life.
		TPF will study all aspects of extrasolar terrestrial and Jovian planets, from their formation and development in disks of dust and gas around newly forming stars, to the population statistics and bulk characteristics of the solar systems around the nearest stars.
	www.aas.org /publications/baas/v35n4/dps2003/472.htm (367 words)

	Questioning Terrestrial Planets
		So TPF (illustrated) will have a much easier time detecting larger terrestrial or giant gaseous planets, but we still want to mostly try to detect planets that are Earth-sized.
		As far as we know, the maximum size of a terrestrial planet is somewhere between one and ten Earth masses, or between the mass of the Earth and the mass of Neptune.
		So TPF will have a much easier time detecting larger terrestrial or giant gaseous planets, but we still want to mostly try to detect planets that are Earth-sized.
	www.spacedaily.com /news/extrasolar-05x.html (1337 words)

	SPACE.com -- Future Missions to Search for Earth-like Planets
		The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) would use an array of telescopes orbiting the Earth in formation to generate planetary pictures 100 times more detailed than those the Hubble Space Telescope could take.
		TPF would study all aspects of planets: from their formation and development to their suitability as an abode for life.
		TPF is targeted for launch in 2011, though it has not been funded.
	www.space.com /searchforlife/exoplanet_missions_001130_5.html (326 words)

	Untitled (via CobWeb/3.1 planetlab2.cs.umd.edu) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-03)
		The survey will be constructed to characterize the prevalence and distribution of giant planets around TPF candidate stars and understand to what extent such planets may disrupt or provide a hospitable environment for terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of the systems.
		Detecting those giant planets that transit their parent stars is very important to extra-solar planet research, because of the unique information they yield on planetary radius, mass, and related parameters.
		Hence the theoretical study of all phases of planet formation, from the evolution of the protoplanetary disk, to coagulation of grains into planetesimals and thence into comets and planets will be of importance for determining the expected composition of a planets atmosphere.
	research.hq.nasa.gov.cob-web.org:8888 /code_s/nra/current/NRA-03-OSS-01-TPF/winners.html (3542 words)

	Two Architectures Chosen for Terrestrial Planet Finder
		The purpose will be to take family portraits of stars and their orbiting planets, and to study those planets to see which, if any, might be habitable, or might even have life.
		Terrestrial Planet Finder-C: a moderate-sized visible-light telescope, similar to the 4- by 6-meter (13.1- by 19.6-foot) version currently under study, to launch around 2014.
		Terrestrial Planet Finder-I: multiple spacecraft carrying 3 to 4 meter (9 to 13 foot) infrared telescopes flying in precise formation, to launch before 2020, and to be conducted jointly with the European Space Agency.
	www.spacedaily.com /news/extrasolar-04n.html (380 words)

	ScienceDaily: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Awards Contracts For Planet-Hunting Mission Studies
		To avoid basing Planet Finder's design on current and potentially "conventional" thinking, JPL threw open the doors to invention by requesting proposals that would reflect the most diverse set of feasible and affordable mission architectures.
		JPL manages both Terrestrial Planet Finder and the Origins Program on behalf of NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
		Planet -- The International Astronomical Union defines "planet" as a celestial body that, within the Solar System that is in orbit around the Sun; has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid...
	www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2000/03/000324095249.htm (1947 words)

	Terrestrial Planet Finder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) is a plan by NASA for a telescope system that would be capable of detecting extrasolar terrestrial planets.
		NASA and JPL were supposed to issue calls for proposals seeking input on the development and demonstration of technologies to implement the two architectures, and on scientific research relevant to planet finding.
		In June 2006 funding for the TPF was provided along with the long-sought mission to Europa, a moon of Jupiter that may harbor extraterrestrial life
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Terrestrial_Planet_Finder (387 words)

	The Terrestrial Planet Finder and SETI - Article - Red Colony
		The TPF’s purpose will be to cancel out the glare of stars and look right at the local planets, rather than looking for signs of them.
		Possessing the ability to locate and analyze alien planets of almost any size for quite a distance from Earth, The TPF could be used to identify worlds that are inhabited by, or at least have had work done on them by aliens.
		The presence of an intelligent race on a vaguely Earth-like planet may have effects on its atmosphere and surface at some point in time, some worlds may have even been totally changed by one (such as us terraforming Mars or Ganymede).
	www.redcolony.com /art.php?id=0409050 (901 words)

	MSC -- Terrestrial Planet Finder (via CobWeb/3.1 planetlab2.cs.umd.edu) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-03)
		The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) will search for and observe exoplanets in the "habitable zones" of stars out to a distance of 50 light years.
		In systems where SIM finds indirect evidence of exoplanets, TPF will null the starlight by a factor of 100,000 to permit direct observation of the planets.
		TPF will also investigate planetary development in disks of dust and gas around newly-forming stars, and study the interstellar medium, quasar cores, and the fl hole at the center of the Milky Way.
	msc.caltech.edu.cob-web.org:8888 /missions/TPF (188 words)

	PLANET DETECTION: NGST (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-03)
		Arguably the most ambitious instrumentation project ever taken on by the human species is the Terrestrial Planet Finder, an instrument designed not just to detect giant planets, but to find Earth-like planets and obtain low-resolution spectra of all objects in order to look for signs of atmosphere-altering life.
		While the design of TPF is still undergoing rapid change, an estimate of its performance has been published by the TPF Science Working Group (JPL Publication 99-3).
		Although the most massive planet might be barely bright enough to be detected, it is so close to the primary star that it will certainly be attenuated by the nulling process.
	skye.as.arizona.edu /~turnbull/PLANETS/TPF.html (334 words)

	Rocky Planet Search at Lick Observatory
		The Automated Planet Finder Telescope is optimized specifically for the Doppler detection of planets having masses 5 to 20 times that of Earth.
		The Rocky Planet Finder has been optimized for high efficiency by keeping the secondary obscuration small, and using protected silver coatings on the secondary and tertiary mirrors.
		Currently, funds are being sought for the completion of this first-ever dedicated search for terrestrial planets around other stars.
	exoplanets.org /telescope.html (233 words)

	NASA - Engineers Achieve Planet-Detection Milestone
		The Planet Detection Testbed works by suppressing the light from an artificial star, while allowing the simulated planet's light to pass through and reach the detector, said Stefan Martin, the testbed lead engineer.
		TPF-I will work in concert with the Terrestrial Planet Coronagraph to provide comprehensive portraits of neighboring planetary systems.
		Their light is mixed together, then split into four beams, representing the four TPF-I collector telescopes, and fed into the other section of the table, which represents the TPF-I beam combiner flight instrument.
	www.nasa.gov /vision/universe/newworlds/detectionMilestone.html (432 words)

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