Habitable Worlds Observatory
| Mission type | Space telescope |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Website | https://habitableworldsobservatory.org/home |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2040s |
Large Strategic Science Missions Astrophysics Division | |
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a future flagship space telescope for NASA Astrophysics that will build on the achievements of the Hubble, Webb, and Roman Space Observatories. Designed to search for signs of life on nearby Earth-like planets, HWO will combine cutting-edge ultraviolet, optical, and infrared technologies to explore fundamental questions about life in the Universe, the origin of galaxies and elements, and the place of humanity in the cosmos.
Its primary mission would be 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 or a starshade to block out the light of their stars. The proposed launch date is 2041, a tentative date because U.S. President Donald Trump’s budget proposals promised to defund and dismantle many NASA science missions currently in development.