| Abstract |
CHIPSat (Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer Satellite) is a technology demonstration mission of UCB (University of California at Berkeley, PI: M. Hurwitz), supported by NASA's UNEX (University-class Explorer) program, with the objective to obtain spectral sky maps of the scientifically critical EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) band between 90-260 Å. CHIPSat is in fact NASA's first UNEX mission. The CHIPS full-sky survey helps to determine the electron temperature, ionization conditions, and cooling mechanisms of the so-called "local interstellar bubble," a cloud of hot gas surrounding our solar system that extends about 300 light-years from the sun.
Background: The CHIPS (Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer) project was selected by UNEX in 1998. The CHIPS mission (i.e. the instrument) was initially proposed as a secondary payload aboard a FAISat communications S/C. This approach was dropped in favor of a small spacecraft with a single instrument payload. Thus the CHIPS project mutated to CHIPSat.
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