EUSO-SPB2 status and science goals*

EUSO-SPB2 (Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon, 2^nd generation) is designed to observe extensive air-showers (EAS) generated by cosmic rays and neutrinos via an air-shower’s fluorescence or optical Cherenkov signals. EUSO-SPB2 consists of two wide-field of view, 1m diameter aperture telescopes, a Fluorescence Telescope (FT) and a Cherenkov Telescope (CT). The two Schmidt telescopes are being assembled in 2022 for a flight campaign in 2023 from Wanaka, New Zealand. The FT records the longitudinal development of an EAS from ultrahigh energy cosmic rays with energies above about 1 EeV. The CT design is designed for detecting the Cherenkov signal from EAS generated either above the Earth’s limb by cosmic rays or below the Earth’s limb by tau-neutrinos that interact as they traverse the Earth. Both telescopes will also study the possible backgrounds for these short timescale signals in the optical and ultraviolet. The CT threshold energy for detection for both the cosmic rays and neutrinos is around a PeV. Built with lessons learned from EUSO-SPB1 and significant advances in telescope design and modeling of the multi-messenger target of opportunity capabilities, the science payload for EUSO-SPB2 will provide pioneering and ground-breaking data to advance the fields of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and neutrino astrophysics.