  Astronomical observations often require the detection of faint signals in the
presence of noise, and the near-infrared regime is no exception. In particular,
where the application has short exposure time constraints, we are frequently
and unavoidably limited by the read noise of a system. A recent and
revolutionary development in detector technology is that of linear-mode
avalanche photodiode (LmAPD) arrays. By the introduction of a signal
multiplication region within the device, effective read noise can be reduced to
<0.2 e-, enabling the detection of very small signals at frame rates of up to 1
kHz. This is already impacting ground-based astronomy in high-speed
applications such as wavefront sensing and fringe tracking, but has not yet
been exploited for scientific space missions. We present the current status of
a collaboration with Leonardo MW - creators of the 'SAPHIRA' LmAPD array - as
we work towards the first in-orbit demonstration of a SAPHIRA device in 'Emu',
a hosted payload on the International Space Station. The Emu mission will fully
benefit from the 'noiseless' gains offered by LmAPD technology as it produces a
time delay integration photometric sky survey at 1.4 microns, using compact
readout electronics developed at the Australian National University. This is
just one example of a use case that could not be achieved with conventional
infrared sensors.
