NASA Selects Future Mission Concepts For Study (Origins Program)

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington July 29, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1727)

RELEASE: 04-246

NASA SELECTS FUTURE MISSION CONCEPTS FOR STUDY

NASA has selected nine studies to investigate new ideas for
future mission concepts within its Astronomical Search for
Origins Program.

Among the new mission ideas are some that 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 the Hubble
Space Telescope (HST).

The products from these concept studies will be used for
future planning of missions complementing the existing suite
of operating missions, including the 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 Origins Program science. The Origins
Program seeks to address the fundamental questions: "How did
we get here?" and "Are we alone?" NASA received 26 proposals
in response to this call for mission concepts.

The selected proposals and their principal investigators a

* BLISS: Revealing the Nature of the Far-IR Universe, Matt
Bradford, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. BLISS
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. BLISS spectral surveys
will chart the history of creation of elements heavier than
helium and energy production through cosmic time.

* Origins Billion Star Survey (OBSS), Kenneth Johnston, U.S.
Naval Observatory, Washington. OBSS 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 (SPIRIT),
David Leisawitz, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
SPIRIT is an 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 (CIP), Gary Melnick, Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass. CIP 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.

* HORUS: High ORbit Ultraviolet-visible Satellite, Jon Morse,
Arizona State University, Tempe. HORUS 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, Colin Norman, Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore. This mission seeks to combine
instruments built for the fifth HST 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 (ASPIRE) Mission:
A Concept Mission to Understand the Role Cosmic Organics Play
in the Origin of Life, Scott Sandford, Ames Research Center,
Moffett Field, Calif. ASPIRE is an mid- and far-infrared
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, Kenneth Sembach, Space
Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore. The Baryonic
Structure 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 (GEOP), Rodger Thompson,
University of Arizona. GEOP observes 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/

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