Paper 14145-154
Paper 14145-154
LED-based calibration for the THESEUS InfraRed Telescope: calibration unit design concept
6 July 2026 • 17:30 - 19:00 CEST | Room B4-M3
Abstract
The InfraRed Telescope (IRT) on the THESEUS ESA M7 mission candidate requires precise radiometric calibration to enable accurate localisation and spectroscopy of high-energy transients. We present the conceptual design of the IRT’s LED-based Calibration Unit, developed to provide highly uniform and temporally stable illumination across five NIR bands, compliant with tight volume and critical alignment requirements. The design builds upon the heritage and demonstrated in-flight performance of the Euclid NISP Calibration Unit, offering valuable guidance for stability, packaging, and long-term behaviour of infrared LEDs in space. The resulting concept targets sub-percent radiometric accuracy, supporting THESEUS’s infrared measurement goals and advancing future space-based NIR instrumentation.
Presenter
University of Debrecen (Hungary), Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary)
MSc industrial design engineer and MSc astronomer. In his astronomy PhD research at Eötvös Loránd University, he studies star formation and the interstellar medium, with emphasis on high-redshift star-forming galaxies and gamma-ray bursts. He is a member of the Hungarian High-Energy Astrophysics Research Group (HEART).
As an instrumentation engineer at Konkoly Observatory, he has contributed to several advanced optical system development projects within international collaborations. In the OPTICON Freeform Active Mirror Experiment, he developed a combined FEM–numerical method to optimise actuator layouts for freeform active mirrors. Within the Asgard project for the VLTI, he contributed to the cold optics mechanical design and test equipment of the NOTT nulling interferometer. He is now the lead engineer of the Hungarian team for the THESEUS space mission, developing the Calibration Unit for the InfraRed Telescope (IRT) at the University of Debrecen.