PRIMA is a 1.8-m diameter, cryogenically-cooled to 4.5 K, far-infrared observatory concept for the community in the 2030 decade. PRIMA includes both a sensitive wideband spectrometer FIRESS, and a multi-band spectrophotometric imager / polarimeter PRIMAger. Both instruments use detectors limited by the natural background, and PRIMA’s sensitivity unlocks the potential of the far-IR waveband to advance astrophysics across a broad range of topics spanning from galaxy and dust evolution in the early universe to the formation of planets and planetary atmospheres.
FIRESS offers full-band instantaneous coverage from 24 to 235 μm in two modes. The low-res mode offers R~100 with long slits, while the high-resolution mode offers R up to 4,400 × (112 μm / λ) in smaller fields. PRIMAger offers rapid R=10 hyperspectral imaging with continuous coverage from 25 to 84 μm, and imaging polarimetry in 4 bands from 90 to 235 μm.
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Latest News
- PRIMA and the Future of Far-Infrared Science, May 19-21, will bring the future user community together to highlight the pressing science cases driving the need for a FIR observatory.
- The PRIMA team is soliciting contributions for Volume 2 of the GO Science Book.
- Re-launching PRIMA Working Groups Details...
- PRIMA P-CAST talk series launches! More info...
