The second Small Explorer (SMEX) mission set, announced September 14, 1994, was for two science missions; one to study the Sun; and another the evolution of galaxies.

The first of the newly selected missions, the Transitional Region and Coronal Explorer, or TRACE, will observe the Sun to study the connection between its magnetic fields and the heating of the Sun's corona. Dr. Alan Title of the Stanford Lockheed-Martin Palo Alto Research Laboratory, California, is the principal investigator. His team includes 13 other scientists from the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. TRACE is scheduled for launch in February 1998.

The second spacecraft, the Wide-Field Infrared Explorer, or WIRE, is scheduled for launch in the fall of 1998 on a mission to study the evolution of galaxies. WIRE will use a cryogenically-cooled telescope and arrays of highly sensitive infrared detectors for the studies. WIRE was proposed by Dr. Perry B. Hacking of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, with co-investigators from the California Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Ball Aerospace Systems Group, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The two missions are part of NASA's Small Explorer (SMEX) Program. These SMEX spacecraft weigh approximately 500 pounds (227 kilograms). Each mission is expected to cost approximately $50 million for design, development and operations through the first 30 days in orbit.

The missions will be launched on a Pegasus rocket, an expendable launch vehicle owned and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Virginia, under contract to NASA. The TRACE and WIRE missions join three other Small Explorer missions already in development or operation: SAMPEX; FAST; and SWAS.

Author: Jim Watzin (jim.watzin@gsfc.nasa.gov)
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The last time this page was updated was 11/21/97.