NASA on Monday announced the selection of industry proposals to advance key technologies for its Habitable Worlds Observatory concept. This future mission would be the first to directly image Earth like planets orbiting stars similar to our Sun and study the chemical makeup of their atmospheres to search for signs of life.
The Habitable Worlds Observatory is planned as a flagship space telescope. Along with its search for life beyond Earth, the mission would support wide ranging studies of the universe and help prepare for future human exploration of Mars, our solar system, and beyond.
“The Habitable Worlds Observatory is exactly the kind of bold, forward leaning science that only NASA can undertake,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Humanity is waiting for the breakthroughs this mission is capable of achieving and the questions it could help us answer about life in the universe. We intend to move with urgency, and expedite timelines to the greatest extent possible to bring these discoveries to the world.”
To meet its scientific goals, the observatory would need an extremely stable optical system. During observations, it must move no more than the width of an atom. The mission would also require a powerful coronagraph, an instrument that blocks a star’s light so that nearby planets can be seen more clearly. This coronagraph would need to be thousands of times more capable than any previously built for space. The observatory would also be designed for servicing in space, allowing its lifespan and scientific value to grow over time.
To prepare these critical technologies, NASA has selected proposals for three year fixed price contracts from several companies. These include Astroscale U.S. Inc., BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems Inc., Busek Co. Inc., L3Harris Technologies Inc., Lockheed Martin Inc., Northrop Grumman Inc., and Zecoat Co. Inc.
“Are we alone in the universe? is an audacious question to answer, but one that our nation is poised to pursue, leveraging the groundwork we’ve laid from previous NASA flagship missions,” said Shawn Domagal Goldman, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With the Habitable Worlds Observatory, NASA will chart new frontiers for humanity’s exploration of the cosmos.”
The newly selected proposals build on industry work that began in 2017 and continued through major telescope technology awards in 2024. They will help shape NASA’s planning for the mission, drawing on lessons from the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
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