NASA outlines plans for multibillion dollar Habitable Worlds Observatory

Orion Goodman

The HabEx concept included a starshade, but the Habitable Worlds Observatory may only include an internal starlight blocker called a coronagraph.

Image Credit: NASA/HabEX

The Habitable Worlds Observatory will be a 6,5-meter space telescope that operates at ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths, according to NASA. The Astro2020 decadal survey, published in November 2021, ranked the Habitable Worlds Observatory as the top choice for a future large space mission. NASA created the Great Observatory Technology Maturation Program (GOMAP) to support the Habitable Worlds Observatory and two future large space telescopes operating at far-infrared and X-ray wavelengths, collectively referred to as the New Great Observatories, in response to the decadal.

The first phase of GOMAP is nearly finished and largely consisted of establishing program-wide plans and policies. Soon, the second phase of GOMAP will commence with the formation of a Science, Technology, and Architecture Review Team (START), which will develop the concept for the Habitable Worlds Observatory. The START team will examine various mission design options and provide NASA with recommendations on how to proceed. Julie Crooke, program executive for GOMAP at NASA Headquarters, intends to attract a broad cross-section of scientists and engineers to the START team, with approximately 20 to 30 members supplemented by independent consultants with cost modeling and scheduling expertise.

The second phase of GOMAP is anticipated to last until fiscal year 2024, followed by a third phase lasting until fiscal year 2028 that will prepare the Habitable Worlds Observatory for Phase A development in fiscal year 2029. NASA hopes to quickly complete the observatory's design and technology development work, but the timeline will depend on the funding it receives.

The development of the Habitable Worlds Observatory will be guided by six principles, including building to a schedule, evolving technologies previously demonstrated, using next-generation launch vehicles, making the telescope compatible with satellite servicing technologies, having robust scientific and technical margins, and maturing key technologies before full-scale development. The target date for the launch of the Habitable Worlds Observatory is the early 2040s.

Nonetheless, some scientists believe the timeline is too slow and want NASA to move more quickly. Jason Tumlinson, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, presented an alternative budget projection that moved the launch of the Habitable Worlds Observatory from 2040 to 2045 to 2035. He argued that this could be accomplished by increasing NASA's astrophysics budget to $2.5 billion per year in the late 2020s, if the community demands it.