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32-498: The Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor , commonly known as LUVOIR ( / l uː ˈ v w ɑːr / ), is a multi-wavelength space telescope concept being developed by NASA under the leadership of a Science and Technology Definition Team . It is one of four large astrophysics space mission concepts studied in preparation for the National Academy of Sciences 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey . While LUVOIR

64-439: A Large Strategic Science Mission and was considered for a development start sometime in the 2020s. The LUVOIR Study Team, under Study Scientist Aki Roberge , has produced designs for two variants of LUVOIR: one with a 15.1 m diameter telescope mirror ( LUVOIR-A ) and one with an 8 m diameter mirror ( LUVOIR-B ). LUVOIR would be able to observe ultraviolet , visible , and near-infrared wavelengths of light . The Final Report on

96-498: A 16.8 metres (55 ft) segmented mirror telescope, and a 9.2 metres (30 ft) segmented mirror telescope. The current LUVOIR-B architecture adopts JWST design heritage, essentially being an incrementally larger variant of the JWST, which has a 6.5 m segmented main mirror. Running on solar power , it would use an internal coronagraph or an external occulter which can characterize the atmosphere and surface of an Earth-sized exoplanet in

128-550: A disk that blocks light from the central star, making a dim planet more visible, and a starshade that would float kilometers out in front of it to perform the same function. LUVOIR-A folds so it only needs an 8-metre wide payload fairing. Initial cost estimates are approximately US$ 10 billion, with lifetime cost estimates of $ 18 billion to $ 24 billion. LUVOIR-B, previously known as the Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope ( ATLAST ),

160-496: A host star's UV radiation regulates the atmospheric photochemistry on habitable planets . LUVOIR will also observe large numbers of exoplanets spanning a wide range of characteristics (mass, host star type, age, etc.), with the goal of placing the Solar System in a broader context of planetary systems. Over its five-year primary mission, LUVOIR-A is expected to identify and study 54 potentially habitable exoplanets , while LUVOIR-B

192-432: A mass-radius relationship. Some exoplanet candidates detected by radial velocity that were originally thought to be potentially habitable were later found to most likely be artifacts of stellar activity. These include Gliese 581 d & g , Gliese 667 Ce & f, Gliese 682 b & c, Kapteyn b , and Gliese 832 c . HD 85512 b was initially estimated to be potentially habitable, but updated models for

224-554: A mission draws upon both the LUVOIR and HabEx mission concepts. In 2016, NASA began considering four different space telescope concepts for future Large Strategic Science Missions. They are the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx), Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR), Lynx X-ray Observatory (lynx), and Origins Space Telescope (OST). In 2019, the four teams turned in their final reports to

256-561: A telescope in space. Spitzer's proposal called for a large telescope that would not be hindered by Earth's atmosphere. After lobbying in the 1960s and 70s for such a system to be built, Spitzer's vision ultimately materialized into the Hubble Space Telescope , which was launched on April 24, 1990, by the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31). This was launched due to many efforts by Nancy Grace Roman, "mother of Hubble", who

288-453: Is a concept for a general-purpose observatory, it has the key science goal of characterizing a wide range of exoplanets , including those that might be habitable . An additional goal is to enable a broad range of astrophysics , from the reionization epoch, through galaxy formation and evolution, to star and planet formation . Powerful imaging and spectroscopy observations of Solar System bodies would also be possible. LUVOIR would be

320-432: Is also an option for the smaller LUVOIR design (LUVOIR-B). Other candidate science instruments studied are: High-Definition Imager (HDI), a wide-field near-UV, optical, and near-infrared camera ; LUMOS , a LUVOIR Ultraviolet Multi-Object Spectrograph ; and POLLUX, an ultraviolet spectropolarimeter . POLLUX (high-resolution UV spectropolarimeter ) is being studied by a European consortium, with leadership and support from

352-573: Is an 8 meter architecture initially developed by the Space Telescope Science Institute , the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). While smaller than LUVOIR-A, it is being designed to produce an angular resolution that is 5–10 times better than the JWST, and a sensitivity limit that is up to 2,000 times better than HST. The LUVOIR Study Team expects that

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384-713: Is expected to identify 28. The scope of astrophysics investigations include explorations of cosmic structure in the far reaches of space and time, formation and evolution of galaxies , and the birth of stars and planetary systems . In the area of Solar System studies, LUVOIR can provide up to about 25 km imaging resolution in visible light at Jupiter, permitting detailed monitoring of atmospheric dynamics in Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune over long timescales. Sensitive, high resolution imaging and spectroscopy of Solar System comets , asteroids , moons , and Kuiper Belt objects that will not be visited by spacecraft in

416-533: Is limited by the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation ( scintillation or twinkling) due to the atmosphere . A telescope orbiting Earth outside the atmosphere is subject neither to twinkling nor to light pollution from artificial light sources on Earth. As a result, the angular resolution of space telescopes is often much higher than a ground-based telescope with a similar aperture . Many larger terrestrial telescopes, however, reduce atmospheric effects with adaptive optics . Space-based astronomy

448-576: Is maintained by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo . There is also a speculative list being developed of superhabitable planets . Surface planetary habitability is thought to require an orbit at the right distance from the host star for liquid surface water to be present, in addition to various geophysical and geodynamical aspects, atmospheric density, radiation type and intensity, and

480-493: Is more important for frequency ranges that are outside the optical window and the radio window , the only two wavelength ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum that are not severely attenuated by the atmosphere. For example, X-ray astronomy is nearly impossible when done from Earth, and has reached its current importance in astronomy only due to orbiting X-ray telescopes such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory and

512-531: The CNES , France. The observatory can observe wavelengths of light from the far-ultraviolet to the near-infrared . To enable the extreme wavefront stability needed for coronagraphic observations of Earth-like exoplanets, the LUVOIR design incorporates three principles. First, vibrations and mechanical disturbances throughout the observatory are minimized. Second, the telescope and coronagraph both incorporate several layers of wavefront control through active optics. Third,

544-649: The High Definition Space Telescope ( HDST ), was proposed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) on 6 July 2015. It would be composed of 36 mirror segments with an aperture of 15.1 metres (50 ft) in diameter, offering images up to 24 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope . LUVOIR-A would be large enough to find and study the dozens of Earthlike planets in our nearby neighborhood . It could resolve objects such as

576-486: The National Academy of Sciences , whose independent Decadal survey committee advises NASA on which mission should take top priority. If funded, LUVOIR would launch in approximately 2039 using a heavy launch vehicle, and it would be placed in an orbit around the Sun–Earth Lagrange point 2 . LUVOIR's main goals are to investigate exoplanets , cosmic origins , and the Solar System . LUVOIR would be able to analyze

608-765: The Soviet space program (later succeeded by Roscosmos of Russia). As of 2022, many space observatories have already completed their missions, while others continue operating on extended time. However, the future availability of space telescopes and observatories depends on timely and sufficient funding. While future space observatories are planned by NASA, JAXA and the CNSA , scientists fear that there would be gaps in coverage that would not be covered immediately by future projects and this would affect research in fundamental science. On 16 January 2023, NASA announced preliminary considerations of several future space telescope programs, including

640-564: The XMM-Newton observatory . Infrared and ultraviolet are also largely blocked. Space telescopes are much more expensive to build than ground-based telescopes. Due to their location, space telescopes are also extremely difficult to maintain. The Hubble Space Telescope was serviced by the Space Shuttle , but most space telescopes cannot be serviced at all. Satellites have been launched and operated by NASA , ISRO , ESA , CNSA , JAXA and

672-670: The habitable zone of long-lived stars at distances up to 140 light-years (43 pc), including its rotation rate, climate, and habitability. The telescope would also allow researchers to glean information on the nature of the dominant surface features, changes in cloud cover and climate, and, potentially, seasonal variations in surface vegetation. LUVOIR-B was designed to launch on a heavy-lift rocket with an industry-standard 5 metres (16 ft) diameter launch fairing. Lifetime cost estimates range from $ 12 billion to $ 18 billion. Space telescope In 1946, American theoretical astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer , "father of Hubble" proposed to put

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704-411: The 5-year LUVOIR mission concept study was publicly released on 26 August 2019. On 4 November 2021, the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey recommended development of a "large (~6 m aperture) infrared/optical/ultraviolet (IR/O/UV) space telescope", with the science goals of searching for signatures of life on planets outside of the solar system and enabling a wide range of transformative astrophysics. Such

736-624: The Great Observatory Technology Maturation Program, Habitable Worlds Observatory , and New Great Observatories. List of potentially habitable exoplanets The following list includes some of the potentially habitable exoplanets discovered so far. It is mostly based on estimates of habitability by the Habitable Worlds Catalog (HWC), and data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive . The HWC

768-550: The boundaries of the habitable zone placed the planet interior to the HZ, and it is now considered non-habitable. Kepler-69c has gone through a similar process; though initially estimated to be potentially habitable, it was quickly realized that the planet is more likely to be similar to Venus, and is thus no longer considered habitable. Several other planets, such as Gliese 180 b , also appear to be examples of planets once considered potentially habitable but later found to be interior to

800-563: The foreseeable future can provide vital information on the processes that formed the Solar System ages ago. Furthermore, LUVOIR has an important role to play by studying plumes from the ocean moons of the outer Solar System, in particular Europa and Enceladus , over long timescales. LUVOIR would be equipped with an internal coronagraph instrument, called ECLIPS for Extreme Coronagraph for LIving Planetary Systems, to enable direct observations of Earth-like exoplanets. An external starshade

832-424: The habitable zone. Similarly, Tau Ceti e and f were initially both considered potentially habitable, but with improved models of the circumstellar habitable zone, as of 2022 PHL does not consider either planet potentially habitable. Kepler-438b was also initially considered potentially habitable; however, it was later found to be a subject of powerful flares that can strip a planet of its atmosphere, so it

864-585: The host star's plasma environment. This is a list of exoplanets within the circumstellar habitable zone that are either under 10 Earth masses or smaller than 2.5 Earth radii, and thus have a chance of being rocky . Note that inclusion on this list does not guarantee habitability, and in particular the larger planets are more unlikely to have a rocky composition. Earth is included for both comparison and reference, while Venus and Mars are included for reference only. Note that mass and radius values prefixed with "~" have not been measured, but are estimated from

896-537: The nucleus of a small galaxy or a gas cloud on the way to collapsing into a star and planets . The case for HDST was made in a report entitled "From Cosmic Birth to Living Earths", on the future of astronomy commissioned by AURA, which runs the Hubble and other observatories on behalf of NASA and the National Science Foundation . Ideas for the original HDST proposal included an internal coronagraph ,

928-442: The structure and composition of exoplanet atmospheres and surfaces. It could also detect biosignatures arising from life in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet. Atmospheric biosignatures of interest include CO 2 , CO , molecular oxygen ( O 2 ), ozone ( O 3 ), water ( H 2 O ), and methane ( CH 4 ). LUVOIR's multi-wavelength capability would also provide key information to help understand how

960-673: The telescope is actively heated to a precise 270 K (−3 °C; 26 °F) to control thermal disturbances. The LUVOIR technology development plan is supported with funding from NASA's Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies program, the Goddard Space Flight Center , the Marshall Space Flight Center , the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and related programs at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and Ball Aerospace . LUVOIR-A, previously known as

992-532: The telescope would be able to be serviced – similar to HST – either by an uncrewed spacecraft or by astronauts via Orion or Starship . Instruments such as cameras could potentially be replaced and returned to Earth for analysis of their components and future upgrades. The original backronym used for the initial mission concept, "ATLAST", was a pun referring to the time taken to decide on a successor for HST. ATLAST itself had three different proposed architectures – an 8 metres (26 ft) monolithic mirror telescope,

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1024-608: Was the first Chief of Astronomy and first female executive at NASA. She was a program scientist that worked to convince NASA, Congress, and others that Hubble was "very well worth doing". The first operational space telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory , OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971. Performing astronomy from ground-based observatories on Earth

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