Euclid. IV. The NISP Calibration Unit

Euclid Collaboration; Hormuth, F.; Jahnke, K.; Schirmer, M.; Lee, C. G.-Y.; Scott, T.; Barbier, R.; Ferriol, S.; Gillard, W.; Grupp, F.; Holmes, R.; Holmes, W.; Kubik, B.; Macias-Perez, J.; Laurent, M.; Marpaud, J.; Marton, M.; Medinaceli, E.; Morgante, G.; Toledo-Moreo, R.; Trifoglio, M.; Rix, Hans-Walter; Secroun, A.; Seiffert, M.; Stassi, P.; Wachter, S.; Gutierrez, C. M.; Vescovi, C.; Amara, A.; Andreon, S.; Auricchio, N.; Baccigalupi, C.; Baldi, M.; Balestra, A.; Bardelli, S.; Battaglia, P.; Bender, R.; Bodendorf, C.; Bonino, D.; Branchini, E.; Brescia, M.; Brinchmann, J.; Camera, S.; Capobianco, V.; Carbone, C.; Cardone, V. F.; Carretero, J.; Casas, R.; Casas, S.; Castellano, M.; Castignani, G.; Cavuoti, S.; Cimatti, A.; Colodro-Conde, C.; Congedo, G.; Conselice, C. J.; Conversi, L.; Copin, Y.; Corcione, L.; Courbin, F.; Courtois, H. M.; Da Silva, A.; Degaudenzi, H.; De Lucia, G.; Dinis, J.; Douspis, M.; Dubath, F.; Ducret, F.; Dupac, X.; Dusini, S.; Fabricius, M.; Farina, M.; Farrens, S.; Faustini, F.; Fotopoulou, S.; Fourmanoit, N.; Frailis, M.; Franceschi, E.; Franzetti, P.; Fumana, M.; Galeotta, S.; Garilli, B.; George, K.; Gillis, B.; Giocoli, C.; Grazian, A.; Guzzo, L.; Haugan, S. V. H.; Hoekstra, H.; Hook, I.; Hornstrup, A.; Hudelot, P.; Jhabvala, M.; Keihänen, E.; Kermiche, S.; Kiessling, A.; Kilbinger, M.; Kitching, T.; Kohley, R.; Kümmel, M.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Le Mignant, D.; Ligori, S.; Lilje, P. B.; Lindholm, V.; Lloro, I.; Mainetti, G.; Maiorano, E.; Mansutti, O.; Marcin, S.; Marggraf, O.; Markovic, K.; Martinelli, M.; Martinet, N.; Marulli, F.; Massey, R.; Maurogordato, S.; McCracken, H. J.; Mei, S.; Melchior, M.; Mellier, Y.; Meneghetti, M.; Merlin, E.; Meylan, G.; Mohr, J. J.; Moresco, M.; Morris, P. W.; Moscardini, L.; Munari, E.; Nakajima, R.; Neissner, C.; Nichol, R. C.; Niemi, S.-M.; Nightingale, J. W.; Padilla, C.; Paech, K.; Paltani, S.; Pasian, F.; Pedersen, K.; Percival, W. J.; Pettorino, V.; Pires, S.; Polenta, G.; Poncet, M.; Popa, L. A.; Raison, F.; Rebolo, R.; Renzi, A.; Rhodes, J.; Riccio, G.; Romelli, E.; Roncarelli, M.; Rossetti, E.; Rusholme, B.; Saglia, R.; Sakr, Z.; Sánchez, A. G.; Sapone, D.; Sartoris, B.; Sauvage, M.; Schewtschenko, J. A.; Schneider, P.; Schrabback, T.; Sefusatti, E.; Seidel, G.; Serrano, S.; Sirignano, C.; Sirri, G.; Smadja, G.; Stanco, L.; Steinwagner, J.; Tallada-Crespí, P.; Tavagnacco, D.; Taylor, A. N.; Teplitz, H. I.; Tereno, I.; Torradeflot, F.; Tutusaus, I.; Valenziano, L.; Vassallo, T.; Veropalumbo, A.; Wang, Y.; Weller, J.; Zacchei, A.; Zamorani, G.; Zerbi, F. M.; Zucca, E.; Biviano, A.; Bolzonella, M.; Boucaud, A.; Bozzo, E.; Burigana, C.; Calabrese, M.; Di Ferdinando, D.; Escartin Vigo, J. A.; Farinelli, R.; Gracia-Carpio, J.; Kazandjian, M. V.; Mauri, N.; Scottez, V.; Tenti, M.; Viel, M.; Wiesmann, M.; Akrami, Y.; Allevato, V.; Anselmi, S.; Aubourg, E.; Ballardini, M.; Bethermin, M.; Blanchard, A.; Blot, L.; Borgani, S.; Borlaff, A. S.; Borsato, E.; Bruton, S.; Cabanac, R.; Calabro, A.; Canas-Herrera, G.; Cappi, A.; Carvalho, C. S.; Casenove, P.; Castro, T.; Chambers, K. C.; Charles, Y.; Contarini, S.; Cooray, A. R.; Cucciati, O.; Davini, S.; De Caro, B.; de la Torre, S.; Desprez, G.; Díaz-Sánchez, A.; Diaz, J. J.; Di Domizio, S.; Dole, H.; Escoffier, S.; Ferrari, A. G.; Ferreira, P. G.; Ferrero, I.; Finelli, F.; Fontana, A.; Fornari, F.; Gabarra, L.; Ganga, K.; García-Bellido, J.; Gaztanaga, E.; Giacomini, F.; Gozaliasl, G.; Hall, A.; Hartley, W. G.; Hildebrandt, H.; Hjorth, J.; Huertas-Company, M.; Ilbert, O.; Jacobson, J.; Jimenez Muñoz, A.; Joudaki, S.; Kajava, J. J. E.; Kansal, V.; Karagiannis, D.; Kirkpatrick, C. C.; Laudisio, F.; Legrand, L.; Libet, G.; Loureiro, A.; Maggio, G.; Magliocchetti, M.; Mancini, C.; Mannucci, F.; Maoli, R.; Martins, C. J. A. P.; Matthew, S.; Maurin, L.; Metcalf, R. B.; Miluzio, M.; Moretti, C.; Nadathur, S.; Walton, Nicholas A.; Patrizii, L.; Pezzotta, A.; Pöntinen, M.; Popa, V.; Porciani, C.; Potter, D.; Risso, I.; Rocci, P.-F.; Rollins, R. P.; Sahlén, M.; Scarlata, C.; Schneider, A.; Schultheis, M.; Sereno, M.; Shulevski, A.; Silvestri, A.; Simon, P.; Spurio Mancini, A.; Stadel, J.; Tao, C.; Testera, G.; Teyssier, R.; Toft, S.; Tosi, S.; Troja, A.; Tucci, M.; Valieri, C.; Valiviita, J.; Vergani, D.; Verza, G.; Zalesky, L.; Archidiacono, M.; Atrio-Barandela, F.; Bouvard, T.; Caro, F.; Dimauro, P.; Fang, Y.; Ferguson, A. M. N.; Finoguenov, A.; Gasparetto, T.; Le Brun, A. M. C.; Le Graet, J.; Liaudat, T. I.; Montoro, A.; Murray, C.; Oguri, M.; Pagano, L.; Paoletti, D.; Sarpa, E.; Tanidis, K.; Vernizzi, F.; Viitanen, A.; Kovačić, I.; Lesgourgues, J.; Martín-Fleitas, J.; Mora, A.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202450345

Published May 2025 | Version Published

Journal Article Open

Euclid. IV. The NISP Calibration Unit

1. Felix Hormuth Engineering, Goethestr. 17, 69181, Leimen, Germany
2. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
3. European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
4. Claude Bernard University Lyon 1
5. Center for Particle Physics of Marseilles
6. Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
7. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
8. University of Surrey
9. Jet Propulsion Lab
10. Grenoble Institute of Technology
11. Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
12. INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129, Bologna, Italy
13. Polytechnic University of Cartagena
14. Carnegie Observatories
15. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
16. Brera Astronomical Observatory
17. International School for Advanced Studies
18. Trieste Astronomical Observatory
19. INFN Sezione di Trieste
20. Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe
21. University of Bologna
22. INFN Sezione di Bologna
23. Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
24. Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
25. University of Genoa
26. INFN Sezione di Genova
27. University of Naples Federico II
28. Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte
29. INFN Sezione di Napoli
30. University of Porto
31. University of Turin
32. INFN Sezione di Torino
33. Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Milano
34. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078, Monteporzio Catone, Italy
35. INFN Sezione di Roma I
36. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas
37. Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya
38. Institute of Space Sciences
39. RWTH Aachen University
40. University of Edinburgh
41. University of Manchester
42. European Space Research Institute
43. European Space Astronomy Centre
44. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
45. UCB Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IUF, IP2I Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
46. University of Lisbon
47. University of Geneva
48. Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
49. INFN Sezione di Padova
50. National Institute for Astrophysics
51. University of Paris
52. Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
53. University of Bristol
54. University of Milan
55. University of Oslo
56. Leiden University
57. Lancaster University
58. Technical University of Denmark
59. University of Copenhagen
60. Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
61. Sorbonne University
62. Goddard Space Flight Center
63. University of Helsinki
64. University College London
65. Helsinki Institute of Physics
66. Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
67. Centre de Calcul de l'IN2P3/CNRS, 21 avenue Pierre de Coubertin, 69627, Villeurbanne Cedex, France
68. University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
69. University of Bonn
70. Durham University
71. Lagrange Laboratory
72. Astroparticle and Cosmology Laboratory
73. California Institute of Technology
74. Institute for High Energy Physics
75. European Space Research and Technology Centre
76. Newcastle University
77. Aarhus University
78. University of Waterloo
79. Perimeter Institute
80. Centre National d'Études Spatiales
81. Institute of Space Science
82. University of La Laguna
83. University of Padua
84. Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
85. Heidelberg University
86. Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology
87. Université St Joseph; Faculty of Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon
88. University of Chile
89. Universität Innsbruck
90. Satlantis, University Science Park, Sede Bld, 48940, Leioa-Bilbao, Spain
91. Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley (OAVdA), Loc. Lignan 39, 11020, Nus (Aosta Valley), Italy
92. American University of Beirut
93. Groupe Institut supérieur d'agriculture de Lille
94. ICSC – Centro Nazionale di Ricerca in High Performance Computing, Big Data e Quantum Computing, Via Magnanelli 2, Bologna, Italy
95. Institute for Theoretical Physics
96. Case Western Reserve University
97. Institut de Recherche sur les Lois Fondamentales de l'Univers
98. University of Ferrara
99. INFN Sezione di Ferrara
100. Observatory of Strasbourg
101. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
102. University of Trieste
103. Ames Research Center
104. Bay Area Environmental Research Institute
105. University of Minnesota
106. University of Hawaii at Manoa
107. University of California, Irvine
108. Saint Mary's University
109. University of Oxford
110. University of Portsmouth
111. Aalto University
112. Ruhr University Bochum
113. Université PSL, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, LERMA, 75014, Paris, France
114. University of Turku
115. Serco for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692, Madrid, Spain
116. Swinburne University of Technology
117. Queen Mary University of London
118. University of the Western Cape
119. ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research, Instituto de Física Teórica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
120. Stockholm University
121. Imperial College London
122. Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory
123. Sapienza University of Rome
124. HE Space for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692, Madrid, Spain
125. University of Cambridge
126. University of Zurich
127. Uppsala University
128. University of Groningen
129. University of Amsterdam
130. Royal Holloway University of London
131. Princeton University
132. New York University
133. Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, 162 5th Avenue, 10010, New York, NY, USA
134. INFN Sezione di Milano
135. University of Salamanca
136. Thales Services S.A.S., 290 Allée du Lac, 31670, Labège, France
137. National Observatory
138. Chiba University
139. L'Institut de physique théorique
140. Ghent University
141. Aurora Technology for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692, Madrid, Spain

The near-infrared calibration unit (NI-CU) on board Euclid’s Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) is the first astronomical calibration lamp based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to be operated in space. Euclid is a mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 framework to explore the dark universe and provide a next-level characterisation of the nature of gravitation, dark matter, and dark energy. Calibrating photometric and spectrometric measurements of galaxies to better than 1.5% accuracy in a survey homogeneously mapping ~14 000 deg² of extragalactic sky requires a very detailed characterisation of near-infrared (NIR) detector properties as well as constant monitoring of them in flight. To cover two of the main contributions – relative pixel-to-pixel sensitivity and non-linearity characteristics – and to support other calibration activities, NI-CU was designed to provide spatially approximately homogeneous (<12% variations) and temporally stable illumination (0.1–0.2% over 1200 s) over the NISP detector plane with minimal power consumption and energy dissipation. NI-CU covers the spectral range ~[900,I900] nm – at cryo-operating temperature – at five fixed independent wavelengths to capture wavelength-dependent behaviour of the detectors, with fluence over a dynamic range of ≳100 from ~15 ph s⁻¹ pixel⁻¹ to >1500 ph s⁻¹ pixel⁻¹. For this functionality, NI-CU is based on LEDs. We describe the rationale behind the decision and design process, the challenges in sourcing the right LEDs, and the qualification process and lessons learned. We also provide a description of the completed NI-CU, its capabilities, and performance as well as its limits. NI-CU has been integrated into NISP and the Euclid satellite, and since Euclid’s launch in July 2023, it has started supporting survey operations.

Copyright and License

© The Authors 2025. Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Coryn Bailer-Jones (on Gaia calibration), Jörg-Uwe Pott and Robert Harris (on MICADO calibration approaches), and Joshua E. Schlieder (on the Roman WFI calibration source) for interesting information and discussions. We want to further thank Thomas Blümchen for his work on an early version of NI-CU, Armin Böhm and the mechanics workshop and Ulrich Grözinger at MPIA for their support, the HIT facility at Heidelberg University Hospital and specifically Martin Härtig, the team at von Hoerner & Sulger for their work, and Frank Sackenheim, Stefan Binnewies, and Josef Pöpsel from Capella Observatory for loaning us their STX- 16803 camera. We specifically acknowledge funding of NI-CU development and MPIA’s Euclid-involvement through the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raum- fahrt (German Aerospace Center, DLR) under grants 50 QE 1202, 50 QE 2003, and 50 QE 2303. The Euclid Consortium acknowledges the European Space Agency and a number of agencies and institutes that have supported the development of Euclid, in particular the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, the Austrian Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft funded through BMK, the Belgian Science Policy, the Canadian Euclid Consortium, the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, the DTU Space and the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark, the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the Netherlandse Onderzoekschool Voor Astronomie, the Norwegian Space Agency, the Research Council of Finland, the Romanian Space Agency, the State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) at the Swiss Space Office (SSO), and the United Kingdom Space Agency. A complete and detailed list is available on the Euclid web site (http://www.euclid-ec.org).

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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
50 QE 1202
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
50 QE 2003
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
50 QE 2303

Available: 2025-04-30

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Euclid. IV. The NISP Calibration Unit

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