CLAIRE - towards the first light for a gamma-ray lens

The CLAIRE collaboration is presently preparing the first astronomical observation of a gamma-ray lens. In June 2000, the instrument is to be flown on a stratospheric balloon by the French Space Agency CNES. CLAIRE features a Laue diffraction lens, a detector module with a 3 x 3 germanium array, and a balloon gondola stabilized to 15 " pointing accuracy. The instruments lens focuses gamma-ray photons from its 526 cm(2) area onto a small solid-state detector, with only 18 cm(3) equivalent volume for background noise. Hence, for the first time in gamma-ray astronomy, the statistics will be dominated by the signal. Besides its excellent sensitivity, the telescope has outstanding angular and spectral resolution. The primary objective for the first balloon flight of CLAIRE is to detect the Crab nebula and measure its extend at 170 keV with an angular resolution of about I arcmin. Scientific objectives for further flights include collapsed objects, SNRs, and broad class annihilators. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.