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Author
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Topic: NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO)
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SpaceAholic Member Posts: 5198 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-10-2023 09:23 AM
NASA is now planning an optical telescope that would be just as big as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and have a grand new goal: looking for signs of life on Earth-like planets, perhaps by the early 2040s. The telescope will, like JWST, be perched at L2, a gravitational balance point 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Unlike JWST, it will be designed for robotic servicing and upgrades, which could enable it to operate for decades, getting better with age. Without a dedicated budget, [NASA astrophysics division director Mark] Clampin says he can't yet make much headway on the design and technology. But he does have a working name for the telescope: the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO)....with the HWO, NASA is following through on the top priority of astronomy's decadal survey, a community-led wish list that guides funding agencies and lawmakers. The survey's final report, published in November 2021, called for NASA to resurrect its Great Observatories program, which launched the Hubble Space Telescope and several others in the 1990s and early 2000s. The report said an $11 billion, 6-meter telescope sensitive to ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared wavelengths should kick off the new Great Observatories program. It specified that the telescope, in addition to doing general astrophysics, must be capable of detecting signs of life on 25 nearby Earth-like exoplanets—the minimum needed to confirm statistically whether life is common in the Galaxy. | |
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