Development, building, and testing of the Spectroscopic Ultraviolet Multi-object Observatory (SUMO) prototype for deployment on the INFUSE sounding rocket

We present the progress of the design of the Spectroscopic Ultraviolet Multi-object Observatory (SUMO) Prototype and its current development, building, and testing. The SUMO Prototype is part of the technology maturation program of SUMO, a mission concept designed for small and medium-sized satellite platforms, and will be the first time a DMD-based instrument is deployed in space. Because the SUMO Prototype will be deployed as a secondary payload, the spectrograph is designed for completely autonomous operation in the near-ultraviolet (NUV) regime. The SUMO Prototype consists of an 8 cm Cassegrain telescope and a digital micromirror device (DMD)-based multi-object spectrometer (MOS), with parallel imaging and spectroscopic channels. As part of this work, we will also develop a custom DMD controller, which is suitable for operation in the space environment. This controller works with a custom-developed object selection code, which performs multi-object spectroscopy in real-time. The SUMO Prototype is tentatively scheduled for flight in 2025 aboard the INFUSE sounding rocket.