Habitable Worlds Observatory

Habitable Worlds Observatory
Mission typeSpace telescope
OperatorNASA
WebsiteOfficial website
Start of mission
Launch date2040s (2024-11-28UTC02:40)

The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a large infrared, optical, and ultraviolet space telescope recommended by the National Academies’ Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020.[1] It will be optimized to search for and image Earth-size habitable exoplanets in the habitable zones of their stars, where liquid water can exist, by using a coronagraph to block out the light of their stars, as well as provide broad astrophysics observations.[2] HWO builds upon studies conducted for two earlier mission concepts called the Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) and Habitable Exoplanets Observatory (HabEx).

  1. ^ Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. doi:10.17226/26141. ISBN 978-0-309-46734-6. Archived from the original on 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  2. ^ "The official Habitable Worlds Observatory website". NASA. December 20, 2023. Archived from the original on 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-01-23.