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Although there exists a large sample of known exoplanets, little spectroscopic data exists that can be used to study their global atmospheric properties. This deficiency can be addressed by performing phase-resolved spectroscopy -- continuous spectroscopic observations of a planets entire orbit about its host star -- of transiting exoplanets. Planets with characteristics suitable for atmospheric characterization have orbits of several days, thus phase curve observations are highly resource intensive, especially for shared use facilities. In this work, we show that an infrared spectrograph operating from a high altitude balloon platform can perform phase-resolved spectroscopy of hot Jupiter-type exoplanets with performance comparable to a space-based telescope. Using the EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE) experiment as an example, we quantify the impact of the most important systematic effects that we expect to encounter from a balloon platform. We show an instrument like EXCITE will have the stability and sensitivity to significantly advance our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. Such an instrument will both complement and serve as a critical bridge between current and future space-based near infrared spectroscopic instruments.
We present a method for attaining sub-arcsecond pointing stability during sub- orbital balloon flights, as designed for in the High Altitude Lensing Observatory (HALO) concept. The pointing method presented here has the potential to perform near-spac
High-resolution spectroscopy in the near-infrared could become the leading method for discovering extra-solar planets around very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. To help to achieve an accuracy of ~m/s, we are developing a gas cell which consists of
LOUPE, the Lunar Observatory for Unresolved Polarimetry of the Earth, is a small, robust spectro-polarimeter with a mission to observe the Earth as an exoplanet. Detecting Earth-like planets in stellar habitable zones is one of the key challenges of
We have begun a program of high altitude ballooning at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore. Recent advances in balloons as well as in electronics have made possible scientific payloads at costs accessible to university departments. The pr
Transit-spectroscopy of exoplanets is one of the key observational techniques to characterize the extrasolar planet and its atmosphere. The observational challenges of these measurements require dedicated instrumentation and only the space environmen