Mission concept · Astrophysics Observatories · Under study
Habitable Worlds Observatory
NASA's next flagship space telescope, recommended by the astronomy decadal survey — designed to directly image potentially habitable planets around other stars and search their atmospheres for signs of life.
Highlights
- ›Built to search other Earths for signs of life
Mission goals
- ›Directly image and search for life on Earth-like exoplanets
- ›Survey dozens of nearby potentially habitable worlds
Technology
A large ultraviolet/optical/infrared space telescope with a starlight-suppressing coronagraph.
Status & uncertainties
In an early technology-maturation phase; design, cost, and launch date are not yet fixed.
Knowledge connections
- Member of groupAstrophysics Observatories
- Associated withNASA
- Associated withAtmospheric Retrieval
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.