James Webb Telescope Model at South by Southwest

Enduring Quests and Daring Visions is a vision for

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

programs chartered by then-Director of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's Astrophysics Division,

Paul Hertz Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

, and released in late 2013. It lays out plans over 30 years as long-term goals and missions. Goals include mapping the

Cosmic Microwave Background The cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR), or relic radiation, is microwave radiation that fills all space in the observable universe. With a standard optical telescope, the background space between stars and galaxies is almost completely dar ...

and finding Earth like

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first det ...

s, to go deeper into space-time studying the Large Scale Structure of the Universe, extreme

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, and looking back farther in time. The panel that produced the vision included many notable American astrophysicists, including: Chryssa Kouveliotou, Eric Agol,

Natalie Batalha Natalie M. Batalha (born May 14, 1966) is professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. Previously she was a research astronomer in the Space Sciences Division of NASA Ames Research Center and held the position of Science Team Lead (2 ...

, Misty Bentz,

Alan Dressler Alan Michael Dressler (born 23 March 1948) is an American astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science of Washington, D.C. Among his works is the popularization ''Voyage To The Great Attractor: Exploring Intergalactic Space''. Dressler wa ...

, Scott Gaudi,

Olivier Guyon Olivier Guyon (born 1975) is a French-American astronomer. He is an astronomer at the Steward Observatory of the college of science and professor in the James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, both of The University of Arizona. He is the SCEx ...

, Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano, Feryal Ozel, Aki Roberge,

Amber Straughn Amber Nicole Straughn (born 1979) is an American astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center where she serves as the deputy project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, responsible for science communications. Her research focu ...

, and Joan Centrella. Examples of discussed missions include: *Astro-H ( Hitomi) *

Black Hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

Mapper *CMB Polarization Surveyor *Cosmic Dawn *

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

* ExoEarth Mapper *''

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

'' *Gravitational Wave Surveyor/Mapper * Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) * Far-Infrared Surveyor (later renamed the

Origins Space Telescope Origins Space Telescope (''Origins'') is a concept study for a far-infrared survey space telescope mission.JEM-EUSO *

James Webb Space Telescope The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. As the largest telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, Lis ...

(JWST) * Large UV Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) *

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (shortened as the Roman Space Telescope, Roman, or RST) is a NASA infrared space telescope in development and scheduled to launch to a Sun–Earth L2 orbit by May 2027. It is named after former NASA Chie ...

Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer The Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is a NASA telescope on the International Space Station, designed and dedicated to the study of the extraordinary gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear physics environments embodied by ...

(NICER) *

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a space telescope for NASA's Explorer program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by the Kepler mission. It was launched on ...

(TESS) * X-Ray Surveyor (later renamed the ''

Lynx X-ray Observatory The Lynx X-ray Observatory (''Lynx'') is a NASA-funded Large strategic science missions, Large Mission Concept Study commissioned as part of the National Academy of Sciences 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. The concept study phas ...

'')

References

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External links

Enduring Quests and Daring Visions (NASA)
(.pdf) Astrophysics 2013 in outer space