Relative Dynamics is excited to announce that we wereselected by NASA for developing a Metalens Near InfraRed Telescope(MeNIRT).

The key objective of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)Phase 1 award is to address the critical need for system technology solutionsthat enable or enhance telescopes for missions of any size, operating across awide range of wavelengths from UV/optical to mid/far-infrared.

MeNIRT provides a lightweight telescope that greatly easesmass limitations with a path to optical to mid-IR diffraction-limitedperformance over the wide temperature range. Using flat optics and athermalized continuous carbon fiber telescope structure greatly reducescoefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) limitations and gravity sag.

Metalenses are potentially revolutionary in optical imagingdue to their flat nature and compact size, multispectral acquisition, and evenoff-axis focusing. Metalenses can be used in many NASA science missions (e.g.,cameras, spectroscopy from UV to microwave, lidars) and spacecraft technologiesusing optics (e.g., star trackers, optical communication and navigation).

Near-term NASA applications are IR, MIR and NIR opticalsystems for large spacecraft and UV to microwave systems for CubeSat and smallsatellite optical systems. https://techport.nasa.gov/view/154504