New 1000-pixel space camera system now mature enough

Researchers from various institutions, including SRON and Delft University of Technology, have demonstrated that it is possible to make a highly sensitive space camera for far-infrared astronomy by using a special type of superconducting detector. Using 961 KID detectors they built a chip for such a camera, which satisfies astronomers’ strict requirements for reliability and sensitivity. Furthermore, the camera system is also made resistant to certain equipment-threatening circumstances in space like cosmic radiation.