# Exploring Cosmic Origins with CORE: Survey requirements and mission design

## TL;DR

This paper outlines the scientific goals, requirements, and design considerations for the CORE space mission, aimed at advancing cosmic microwave background polarization observations to address fundamental physics questions.

## Contribution

It presents a detailed design framework and performance assessment methodology for the proposed CORE mission, emphasizing its unique role in CMB polarization science.

## Key findings

- CORE is designed as a near-ultimate CMB polarization mission.
- The mission will perform essential observations not achievable by ground-based methods.
- Performance assessment methodologies are applicable to future CMB mission designs.

## Abstract

Future observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarisation have the potential to answer some of the most fundamental questions of modern physics and cosmology. In this paper, we list the requirements for a future CMB polarisation survey addressing these scientific objectives, and discuss the design drivers of the CORE space mission proposed to ESA in answer to the "M5" call for a medium-sized mission. The rationale and options, and the methodologies used to assess the mission's performance, are of interest to other future CMB mission design studies. CORE is designed as a near-ultimate CMB polarisation mission which, for optimal complementarity with ground-based observations, will perform the observations that are known to be essential to CMB polarisation scienceand cannot be obtained by any other means than a dedicated space mission.