The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE): A dedicated cubesat mission to study exoplanetary mass loss and magnetic fields

TL;DR

CUTE is a dedicated 6U cubesat mission designed to study exoplanetary atmospheric mass loss and magnetic fields by monitoring transiting hot Jupiters in the near-UV, providing extensive spectroscopic data more efficiently than previous instruments.

Contribution

It introduces an innovative optical design for a cubesat to perform detailed UV spectroscopic transit observations of hot Jupiters, significantly increasing observational efficiency.

Findings

Able to observe over 100 transits in seven months

Achieves a spectral resolving power of 3000 in the near-UV

Detects transit depths as small as 0.1% in spectral lines

Abstract

The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) is a near-UV (2550 - 3300 Angstrom) 6U cubesat mission designed to monitor transiting hot Jupiters to quantify their atmospheric mass loss and magnetic fields. CUTE will probe both atomic (Mg and Fe) and molecular (OH) lines for evidence of enhanced transit absorption, and to search for evidence of early ingress due to bow shocks ahead of the planet's orbital motion. As a dedicated mission, CUTE will observe more than 100 spectroscopic transits of hot Jupiters over a nominal seven month mission. This represents the equivalent of more than 700 orbits of the only other instrument capable of these measurements, the Hubble Space Telescope. CUTE efficiently utilizes the available cubesat volume by means of an innovative optical design to achieve a projected effective area of 28 sq. cm, low instrumental background, and a spectral resolving power of 3000 over the primary science bandpass. These performance characteristics enable CUTE to discern transit depths between 0.1 - 1% in individual spectral absorption lines. We present the CUTE optical and mechanical design, a summary of the science motivation and expected results, and an overview of the projected fabrication, calibration and launch timeline.