Supernova and Stellar Feedback Rapid-Acquisition Spectrograph (SASAFRAS): a UV multi-object spectrograph mission concept for the SuperBIT platform

Multi-object and integral field spectroscopy are enabling technologies for the next generation of space telescopes, including upcoming flagships like the Habitable Worlds Observatory and beyond. A promising technology to perform spatially multiplexed spectroscopy is the digital micromirror device (DMD), a commercially available array of small mirrors, which can be used for object selection, as well as more complex observing modes. Building on the technology maturation performed during previous NASA programs, we have developed the Supernova and Stellar Feedback Rapid-Acquisition Spectrograph (SASAFRAS) – an advanced multi-object and integral field spectrograph for the NUV regime (200 – 400 nm), deployed on the SuperBIT long duration balloon platform. SASAFRAS is designed to carry-out two scientific campaigns: 1) spectroscopic follow-up observations of supernova (and other bright transients), within minutes after their discovery; and 2) a spatially resolved survey of nearby star forming galaxies and their environments. SASAFRAS will achieve a spectral resolution of R~1000, over a 20 arcminute diameter field of view, with a spatial resolution of ~1 arcsec.