The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a space telescope that will search for signs of life on planets orbiting other stars. It will be the first telescope designed specifically for this purpose.
What it will do:
- Search for potentially habitable worlds in nearby planetary systems
- Study the connections between stars and their orbiting worlds
- Characterize Earth-like exoplanets
- Search for signs of life on exoplanets
Why it’s important:
- It will help us understand how the relationship between stars and their planets affects a planet’s ecosystem
- It will help us understand the full range of planet possibilities and histories
What it will use:
- Coronagraph: Blocks out the light from the star so astronomers can see the reflective light from the planets
- Spectrograph: Helps astronomers tell if a planet has an atmosphere and what it’s made of
How it was recommended:
- The National Academies’ report, *Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s*recommended the HWO
You can learn more about the HWO at:
- habitableworldsobservatory.org: Find news, documentation, science planning tools, and events
- NASA Science (.gov): Learn about the HWO’s science
- NASA GSFC: Learn about the HWO’s key roles
- hwo-ecr@lists.nasa.gov: Subscribe to receive updates about events for early-career researchers
NASA is further prioritizing its long-running search for life in the universe and laying the groundwork for its next flagship astrophysics mission after the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (slated to launch by May 2027). This observatory would simultaneously provide powerful capabilities for transformational astrophysics discoveries, from our cosmic backyard of the solar system to the distant universe and everything in between.
Currently referred to as the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), this is a concept for a mission that would search for and characterize habitable planets beyond our solar system. Building upon studies conducted for two earlier mission concepts called the Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) and Habitable Exoplanets Observatory (HabEx), HWO would be designed specifically to identify potentially habitable planets around other stars, closely examining their atmospheres to determine if life could possibly exist.
The mission’s main objective would be to identify and directly image at least 25 potentially habitable worlds. It would then use spectroscopy to search for chemical “biosignatures” in these planets’ atmospheres, including gasses such as oxygen and methane which could serve as critical evidence for life. The observatory would introduce new capabilities to study the universe with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution, giving us important new insights into the evolution of cosmic structures, including how galaxies form and develop over time.
What is the Habitable Worlds Observatory spectroscopy?
The mission’s main objective would be to identify and directly image at least 25 potentially habitable worlds. It would then use spectroscopy to search for chemical “biosignatures” in these planets’ atmospheres, including gasses such as oxygen and methane which could serve as critical evidence for life
How big is the mirror in Habitable Worlds Observatory?
Observing wavelengths of light similar to those detected by the Hubble Space Telescope, HWO will have a mirror large enough (≥6-meter diameter) to find and study at least 25 potentially habitable worlds around other stars.
What is the NASA mission to the habitable planet?
The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) is a concept for a mission to directly image planetary systems around Sun-like stars. HabEx will be sensitive to all types of planets; however its main goal is, for the first time, to directly image Earth-like exoplanets, and characterize their atmospheric content
What are the habitable worlds in our solar system?
Earth
While each planet in our solar system is unique, the 8 planets can generally be grouped into two different categories: the inner rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and the outer gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). Earth is the only planet in our solar system’s habitable zone.
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a NASA space telescope that will search for signs of life on planets outside our solar system. It will be the first telescope designed specifically for this purpose.
What it will do
- Search for signs of life on Earth-like exoplanets
- Study the origin of galaxies
- Study the cycling of matter in the universe
- Place our solar system in a broader cosmic context
- Examine the atmospheres of potentially habitable worlds
- Search for biosignatures that could indicate the presence of life
What makes it unique
- It will have a large aperture primary mirror
- It will have a powerful instrument suite
- It will have broad wavelength coverage in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared
When will it launch?
- It’s planned to launch in the 2040s
- It will be launched on a super heavy-lift launch vehicle, such as SpaceX’s Starship, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, or the SLS
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