Meet the Habitable Worlds Observatory, NASA’s life-seeking telescope
NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory, or HWO, is a “Super Hubble” telescope that would directly image Earth-size exoplanets circling other stars. Using a JWST-size mirror and ultra-precise optics, HWO would scrutinize the atmospheres of these worlds for signs of life.
“It's the first observatory really designed around characterizing exoplanets as complex worlds, and not just as discovering them as point sources,” said Giada Arney, a member of the Science, Technology, and Architecture Review Team for HWO at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “That's really exciting for me as a planetary scientist.”
More than just a life hunter, HWO is designed to be a multipurpose observatory like Hubble and JWST. The telescope will study what drives galaxy growth and trace the origins of elements and molecules in the early Universe. It would also monitor worlds much closer to home.
“I'm excited about the possibility of observing our Solar System's ocean worlds, such as Neptune's moon Triton and Jupiter's moon Europa,” said Lynnae Quick, an ocean worlds planetary scientist at Goddard. “HWO could be instrumental in helping us learn more about volatile cycling on Triton as the seasons change there,” she said.
