This might be the most exciting time for astronomers. This week the decadal survey from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was released. This report, which is released once every decade, lays out plans for the next 10 years of astronomy in the US.
The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020, called Astro2020, focuses on three main aspects for the next 10 years of research – searching potentially habitable exoplanets, understanding dark matter, and other cosmic mysteries, and learning how galaxies form and expansion of the universe. The survey also points to the importance of expanding diversity and access in astronomy and backing researchers in their initial years of research.
Plans to replace legendary Hubble telescope
One of the noticeable recommendations is for a new “Great Observatory” to replace the dated Hubble Space Telescope, which has been running into glitches more often lately. The report recommends a huge new space telescope that is capable of operating in the optical, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths and can come in handy for observing exoplanets and determining if they are habitable.
The recommended giant telescope would bring together two proposals – NASA’s Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) mission and its Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) mission. At a building cost of $11 billion, the giant telescope will be able to see dim planets that are 10 billion times fainter than the stars they orbit.
NASA recommended to build more telescopes
The report further recommends that the space agency set up a “Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation Program” to develop even more space telescopes. “This report sets an ambitious, inspirational, and aspirational vision for the coming decade of astronomy and astrophysics,” said Fiona Harrison, chair of the division of physics, mathematics, and astronomy at the California Institute of Technology.
“In changing how we plan for the most ambitious strategic space projects, we can develop a broad portfolio of missions to pursue visionary goals, such as searching for life on planets orbiting stars in our galactic neighborhood — and at the same time exploit the richness of 21st-century astrophysics through a panchromatic fleet.”
