Speaker
Description
The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) satellite mission in development with a planned launch in 2027. COSI operates as a Compton telescope in the 0.2-5 MeV gamma-ray bandpass, it has an instantaneous field of view of >25%-sky, and it obtains coverage the entire sky every day. COSI provides imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetry of astrophysical sources, and its germanium detectors have excellent energy resolution for emission line measurements. Science goals for COSI include studies of 0.511 MeV emission from antimatter annihilation in the Galaxy, mapping radioactive elements from nucleosynthesis, determining emission mechanisms and source geometries with polarization measurements, and detecting and localizing multimessenger sources. Much of the COSI instrumentation was demonstrated via flights on high-altitude balloons, and I will describe how the instrumentation has been adapted for a satellite mission. This presentation will also include updates on the hardware and software efforts and the general status of the mission.
