NASA has selected nine studies, including one from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to investigate
new ideas for future mission concepts within its Astronomical Search for Origins Program. Some of the new mission ideas
will survey one billion stars within our own galaxy; measure the distribution of galaxies in the distant universe; study
dust and gas between galaxies; study organic compounds in space and investigate their role in planetary system formation; and create an optical-ultraviolet telescope to replace NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
The products from these concept studies will be used for future planning of missions complementing the existing suite of
operating missions, including NASA's Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, and developmental missions such as the
James Webb Space Telescope and Terrestrial Planet Finder.
Each of the selected studies will have eight months to further develop and refine concepts for missions addressing
different aspects of the Origins Program science. The Origins Program seeks to address the fundamental questions:
"Where did we come from?" and "Are we alone?" NASA received 26 proposals in response to this call for mission concepts.
The selected proposals are:
? A background-limited infrared-submillimeter spectrograph for Spica: Revealing the
Nature of the Far-Infrared Universe. The study will enable far-infrared spectroscopy of the galaxies that make up the
far-infrared background out to distances of some of the farthest galaxies known today. Its spectral surveys will chart
the history of creation of elements heavier than helium and energy production through cosmic time.
? Origins Billion-Star Survey. The survey will provide a complete census of giant extrasolar
planets for all types of stars in our galaxy and the demographics of stars within 30,000 light-years of the sun.
? The Space Infrared Interferometric Telescope. This imaging and spectral Michelson interferometer operating in the
mid-to-far-infrared region of the spectrum. Its very high angular resolution in the far-infrared will enable revolutionary
developments in the field of star and planet formation research.
? Cosmic Inflation Probe. The probe will measure the shape of cosmic inflation potential
by conducting a space-based, near-infrared, large-area redshift survey capable of detecting galaxies that formed early
in the history of the universe.
? High Orbit Ultraviolet-visible Satellite. This mission will conduct a step-wise, systematic
investigation of star formation in the Milky Way, nearby galaxies and the high-redshift universe; the origin of the
elements and cosmic structure; and the composition of and physical conditions in the extended atmospheres of
extrasolar planets.
? Hubble Origins Probe. This mission seeks to combine instruments built for the fifth
Hubble servicing mission: Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Wide Field Camera 3. This new space telescope at the
forefront of modern astronomy will have a unifying focus on the period when the great majority of star and planet
formation, heavy element production, black-hole growth and galaxy assembly took place.
? The Astrobiology Space Infrared Explorer Mission: A Concept Mission to Understand
the Role Cosmic Organics Play in the Origin of Life. This is a mid-and far-infrared space observatory optimized to
spectroscopically detect and identify organic compounds and related materials in space, and understand how
these materials are formed, evolve and find their way to planetary surfaces.
? The Baryonic Structure Probe. The probe will strengthen the foundations of observational
cosmology by directly detecting, mapping and characterizing the cosmic web of matter in the early universe, its inflow into
galaxies, and its enrichment with elements heavier than hydrogen and helium (the products of stellar and galactic evolution).
? Galaxy Evolution and Origins Probe. The probe will observe more than five million galaxies
to study the mass assembly of galaxies, the global history of star formation, and the change of galaxy size and brightness
over a volume of the universe large enough to determine the fluctuations of these processes.
More information on NASA's Origins Program is available on the Internet at: http://origins.jpl.nasa.gov/.
