POINTS Optics: Challenges and Options

It has been widely recognized for several years that interferometric instruments will play a major role in many aspects of space-based optical astronomy. More recently, optical interferometry received very favorable treatment in the AASC (Bahcall Committee) report and the POINTS mission is a close match to the Astrometric Interferometry Mission that the report lists as a moderate space-based program. In the next century, milliarcsecond-and submilliarcsecond-resolution images will likely be obtained from interferometric instruments deployed in space. An important precursor to such imaging instruments is a small astrometric optical interferometer. (Recommendations of the Interferometry Panel of the AASC.)