At some point in the 2030s or 2040s, humans will send a telescope into space capable of observing space. Livability At least 25 exoplanets previously selected.
He A habitable world laboratory (HWO), the first telescope designed to “identify habitable Earth-like planets in association with relatively bright stars like our Sun and study the evidence for their existence,” is Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Complutense University of Madrid. (UCM) Ana Inez Gomez de Castro Selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as one of three representatives on the Science, Technology and Architecture Review Team (START) of NASA's Maturity Program for HWO.
Astrophysicist Ana Ines Gomez de Castro
Touted as the successor to the James Webb Telescope, launched in December 2021, HWO is a joint project of NASA, ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The website itself defines it as a tool to reveal “if Earth-like planets are common or rare,” and Gómez de Castro himself promises that it will serve as a tool. Confirm for the first time that life exists outside our planetBefore other trips to potentially life-like worlds, such as Jupiter's moon Europa.
Other Activities
In addition to searching for habitable worlds, HWO will also be a “complete astronomical observatory that includes instruments to study the theme, sources of gravitational waves, and chemistry in the interstellar medium and astrobiology,” Gómez de Castro recalled.
“More than 5,000 planets have been identified so far, but Very few, only about ten, are in the habitable zone of its star, i.e. the conditions for the presence of liquid water,” says El Debate, Director of the Space Astronomy Research Group – UCM's AEGORA.
So, he explains, It will take more time until at least 25 planets are selected to be analyzed, it's a “very delicate topic.” “The next few years will be to identify those 25 candidates and define the best strategies to find them,” he says.
Presence of clouds, weather patterns and even possibilities Plants These will be issues that the HWO will investigate; And of all the promising exoplanets discovered so far, Gómez de Castro notes Systema Trappist-1, At a distance of 40 light years from Earth, it has been in the ponds for more than five years. Mainly, there are two reasons: the apparent similarity of some of their planets in terms of radius and mass, and their being within the habitable zone of their star.
They are labor It is in the first phase of work and is estimated to take about two years. “At this early stage, we're going to decide which science is the most prioritized and relevant, defining the shape and properties of the instrument, while verifying that the instrument is feasible for that science,” he says. Astrophysicist.
