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The Gamow Explorer is a NASA gamma-ray burst (GRB) space observatory plan, proposed as a MIDEX mission for a 2028 launch, with the aim of providing alerts for very-high-redshift GRBs, from a distance that redshifts them to X-ray. Included is an infrared telescope looking for a dropout indicating the Gunn-Peterson trough, a sign of a source with a redshift of z=6 or more. Such transients are rare, and this quick, on-board confirmation would establish the value of immediate follow-up observation with major research telescopes. Instruments:
Given the rarity of the target transients, the spacecraft would make use of the idle PIRT to discover and observe other types of transients.