Origins Space Telescope

Origins Space Telescope
Early design of the mirror and focal plane instruments
NamesOrigins, OST
Mission typeSpace telescope
OperatorNASA
Websiteasd.gsfc.nasa.gov/firs/
Start of mission
Launch date2035 (proposed)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemSun-Earth L2
Main
WavelengthsFar infrared

Origins Space Telescope (Origins) is a concept study for a far-infrared survey space telescope mission.[1] A preliminary concept in pre-formulation, it was presented to the United States Decadal Survey in 2019 for a possible selection to NASA's large strategic science missions. Origins would provide an array of new tools for studying star formation and the energetics and physical state of the interstellar medium within the Milky Way using infrared radiation and new spectroscopic capabilities.[2]

Study groups, primarily composed of international community members, prioritized the science identification and science drivers of the mission architecture.[3][4] The study groups drew upon input from the international astronomical community; such a large mission will need international participation and support to make it a reality.[5]

  1. ^ Preparing for the 2020 Decadal Survey Large Mission Concepts. (PDF) Paul Hertz, NASA Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ M. C. Wiedner, S. Aalto, K. Stevenson: Origins space telescope: from first light to life. In: Experimental Astronomy, Vol. 51, pages 595-624 (2021)
  3. ^ The Far-Infrared Surveyor Mission Study: Paper I, the Genesis (PDF) 29 July 2016. Proceedings, Volume 9904, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 99040K (2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2240456
  4. ^ Far-IR Surveyor Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Far IR Surveyor Workshop. Caltech's Beckman Institute. June 2015