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 proposed next generation space telescope, a successor of the flagship Hubble, Webb and Roman projects. It would have a large 6–8 meter mirror and be able to detect infrared, optical, and ultraviolet wavelengths. 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. Beyond planets, it will also observe galaxies. The proposed launch date is 2041, a tentative date because U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to defund and dismantle the Roman telescope only a year away from launch.