Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer observations of the HD molecule toward HD 73882

The Lyman and Werner band systems of deuterated molecular hydrogen (HD) occ ur in the far-UV range below 1120 Angstrom. The high sensitivity of the FUS E mission can give access, at moderate resolution, to hot stars shining thr ough translucent clouds in the hope of observing molecular cores in which d euterium is essentially in the form of HD. Thus, the measurement of the HD/ H-2 ratio may become a powerful new tool to evaluate the deuterium abundanc e, D/H, in the interstellar medium. We report on the detection of HD toward the high-extinction star HD 73882 (EB-V = 0.72). A preliminary analysis is presented.