Searching for life elsewhere in the universe is one of the most highly prioritized pursuits in astronomy today.
We investigate the detectability of atmospheric biosignatures with the LIFE mission.
Young stars host only a small fraction of the known exoplanet population because their photometric variability, magnetic activity, and frequent placement in dense, poorly-resolved regions hamper exoplanet detections.
Astrometry, one of the oldest branches of astronomy, has been revolutionized by missions like Hipparcos and especially Gaia, which mapped billions of stars with extraordinary precision.
Visible and ultraviolet imaging and spectroscopy of Solar System giant planets can set the paradigm for the atmospheric, ionospheric, and magnetospheric processes shaping the diversity of giant exoplanets, brown dwarfs, […]
How do habitable environments arise and evolve within the context of their planetary systems? This is one fundamental question, and it can be addressed partly by identifying how planets in […]
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is NASA’s next flagship observatory for the 2030s, following its top rank for large space projects in the Astro2020 decadal survey. With transformative ultraviolet, optical, […]
In-space assembly of optical reflectors can solve light-gathering aperture scaling, which currently limits space-borne optical telescopes. Our compass reduces the top-level optical design trade to three types of avenues—a fluidic […]
This paper advances the concept maturity level (CML) of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) servicing architecture.
The discovery and characterization of habitable worlds was the top scientific recommendation of the Astro2020 decadal survey and is a key objective of the Habitable Worlds Observatory.
