METIS, the Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy: for the solar orbiter mission

Abstract

In 1999 the European solar scientific community proposed to ESA the Solar Orbiter (SO), a mission to explore\nthe circumsolar region, to perform quasi helio-synchronous observations, and to obtain the first out-of-ecliptic\nimaging and spectroscopy of the solar poles and of the equatorial corona. Presently, SO is one of the three\nmissions under study within the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program, and a key ESA-NASA missions\nwithin the International Living with a Star Program. SO, to be launched on January 2017, is expected to provide\nmajor advances steps forward in understanding the Sun-heliosphere connection.\nMETIS, the Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy, is one of the instruments selected in\n2009 by the European Space Agency to be part of the payload of the SO mission. The instrument design has\nbeen conceived by an international team with the intent to perform both multiband imaging and UV\nspectroscopy of the solar corona. METIS, owing to its multi wavelength capability, can effectively address\nsome of the major open issues in understanding the corona and the solar wind can be effectively addressed,\nexploiting the unique opportunities offered by the SO mission profile. METIS observations are crucial for\nanswering some fundamental solar physics questions concerning the origins of the fast and slow wind, the\nsources of solar energetic particles, and the eruption and early evolution of coronal mass ejections.\nMETIS adopts an innovative optical design [1] which perfectly adapts to the critical environment