What will America's space science look like in the next 10 years?

The latest survey of American astronomy and astrophysics from 2022 to 2032 has recommended that NASA create a new program to develop several large space telescopes to hunt for planets.

The first mission in the new program, according to the survey report, will be a space telescope that can observe the universe at infrared, optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. The Hubble Space Telescope mainly looks at optical and ultraviolet light, while the James Webb telescope mainly looks at the universe in infrared.

The successor telescope will be 10 times more sensitive to hunting for planets.

With a light-collecting area more than twice that of Hubble, the newly shaped observatory can see planets in other star systems that are one-tenth the luminosity of their stars and have can identify specific wavelengths of light or spectra.

The new generation of telescopes can also observe stars, galaxies and other celestial bodies. At an estimated cost of $11 billion, the new telescope is expected to launch in the early 2040s.

Five years after starting its first flagship mission, NASA should begin developing both far-infrared and X-ray missions, each estimated to cost $3 billion to $5 billion, survey suggests. Recommendations.

A far-infrared window into space could help astronomers study how water works in the formation of planetary systems.

On the ground, astronomers' highest priority is to continue building the two main optical observatories in Chile and in Hawaii, although the Hawaii observatory project has been met with controversy.

The survey also notes that it's time to replace the telescopes scattered across the United States. The proposed successor telescope would be 10 times more sensitive.