COBRAS SAMBA - THE ESA MEDIUM-SIZE MISSION FOR MEASUREMENTS OF CBR ANISOTROPY/

The COBRAS/SAMBA mission is designed for extensive, accurate mapping o f the anisotropy of the cosmic Background Radiation, with angular sens itivity from scales of a few arcminutes up to and over-lapping with th e > 7 degrees COBE-DMR resolution. This will allow a full identificati on of the primordial density perturbations which grew to form the larg e-scale structures observed in the present universe. The COBRAS/SAMBA maps will provide a major source of information relevant to several co smological and astrophysical issues, such as testing theories of the e arly universe and the origin of cosmic structure. One of the main diff use foreground emissions will be from interstellar dust, and the missi on will provide relevant information on its components and emission pr operties. A combination of bolometric and radiometric detection techni ques will ensure the sensitivity and wide spectral coverage required f or accurate foreground discrimination. A far-Earth orbit has been sele cted to minimize the unwanted emission from the Earth as a source of c ontamination. The project is currently undergoing a feasibility study within the European Space Agency M3 programme.