Cycle 3 selected programs announced

News article posted on by Tom Barclay

On July 4, 2020 TESS will begin its extended mission. This also marks the beginning of Cycle 3 of the TESS GI program. There are a number of changes in how TESS operates that start with Cycle 3, including a new 20-s cadence mode, all FFI data being taken at 10-min cadence and a 10-fold increase in the number of GI program targets.

We are excited to announce the selected programs from the Cycle 3 review of proposals. This was a particularly competitive process this year, with over 150 proposal received. The science investigations selected cover a broad range of topics, from studies of comets in our own Solar System to searching for the counterparts of gamma-ray bursts.

While the selected programs get the top priority slots for 20-s and 2-min cadence target observations, we will be able to select many more targets for observation than we can support through funding. Therefore, a large number of the programs submitted will have targets selected for observation.