'Super Hubble': NASA is building its first alien-hunting telescope
Produced by: Tarun Mishra
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NASA's New Telescope
NASA is developing an advanced "alien-hunting" telescope called the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), according to a report by Nature.
Mission Objective
The HWO aims to search for a wide variety of biosignatures, which are indicators of living organisms, in the atmospheres of distant planets.
Ambitious Goal
NASA chief scientist Dr. Jessie Christiansen believes that the HWO will find evidence of life on a planet in the habitable zone of a star like our sun within our lifetime.
Target Planets
Scientists working on the project have identified nearly 25 Earth-like planets near sun-like stars as potential candidates for the HWO's investigation.
Advanced Imaging
The HWO's telescope, considered a "Super Hubble," will be capable of directly imaging Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars, providing unprecedented detail.
Technological Features
The observatory will be equipped with a mirror similar to that of the James Webb Space Telescope and ultra-precise optics to thoroughly analyse the atmospheres of these worlds for signs of life.
Collaborative Effort
NASA's exoplanet team, including astronomers, physicists, engineers, and scientists, held a meeting in January in New Orleans to discuss the tools and technologies required for the HWO's mission.
Detecting Biosignatures
Dr. Courtney Dressing, co-leader of HWO's Science Architecture Review Team (START), proposed that the HWO should be equipped to detect a wide variety of biosignatures, including biogenic gases, surface biosignatures, aerosols, airborne pollutants, and artificial techno signatures.
Expectation of Discovery
Dr. Jessie Christiansen from NASA's Exoplanet Science Institute at CalTech expressed optimism that the HWO will provide proof of extraterrestrial life soon after its launch. She stated that within our lifetime, the HWO could detect a signal in the atmosphere of a rocky planet in the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun, indicating the presence of life. The telescope is set to be launched around 2040.