Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope

Short description: Infrared space observatory

Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope

Rendered model of the WFIRST spacecraft, July 2018

Names| Joint Dark Energy Mission
Mission type| Infrared Space observatory
Operator| NASA / JPL / GSFC
Website| wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov
Mission duration| 5 years (planned)[1]
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer| Harris Corporation
Launch mass| 4,166 kg (9,184 lb)[2]
Dry mass| 4,059 kg (8,949 lb)[2]
Payload mass| 2,191 kg (4,830 lb)[2]
Power| 2500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date| 2025[3]
Rocket| Commercial launch vehicle[4]
Launch site| Cape Canaveral
Orbital parameters
Reference system| Sun–Earth L2
Regime| Halo orbit
Periapsis altitude| 188,420 km (117,080 mi)
Apoapsis altitude| 806,756 km (501,295 mi)
Main telescope
Type| Three-mirror anastigmat
Diameter| 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Wavelengths| Near-infrared, visible light
Transponders
Band| S band (TT&C support)
Ka band (data acquisition)
Bandwidth| Few kbit/s duplex (S band)
290 Mbit/s (Ka band)
Instruments
Coronagraph Instrument
Wide Field Instrument

File:The Road to L2.webm

The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is a NASA infrared space observatory currently under development. WFIRST was recommended in 2010 by United States National Research Council Decadal Survey committee as the top priority for the next decade of astronomy. On February 17, 2016, WFIRST was approved for development and launch.[5]

WFIRST is based on an existing 2.4 m wide field-of-view telescope and will carry two scientific instruments. The Wide-Field Instrument is a 288-megapixel multi-band near-infrared camera, providing a sharpness of images comparable to that achieved by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) over a 0.28 square degree field of view, 100 times larger than that of the HST. The Coronagraphic Instrument is a high-contrast, small field-of-view camera and spectrometer covering visible and near-infrared wavelengths using novel starlight-suppression technology.

The design of WFIRST is based on one of the proposed designs for the Joint Dark Energy Mission between NASA and DOE. WFIRST adds some extra capabilities to the original JDEM proposal, including a search for extra-solar planets using gravitational microlensing.[6] In its present incarnation (2015),[7] a large fraction of its primary mission will be focused on probing the expansion history of the Universe and the growth of cosmic structure with multiple methods in overlapping redshift ranges, with the goal of precisely measuring the effects of dark energy,[8] the consistency of general relativity, and the curvature of spacetime.

On February 12, 2018, development on the WFIRST mission was proposed to be terminated in the President's FY19 budget request, due to a reduction in the overall NASA astrophysics budget and higher priorities elsewhere in the agency.[9][10][11] However, in March 2018 Congress approved funding to continue making progress on WFIRST until at least September 30, 2018,[12] in a bill stating that Congress "rejects the cancellation of scientific priorities recommended by the National Academy of Sciences decadal survey process".[13][needs update]

In testimony before Congress in July 2018, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine proposed slowing down the development of WFIRST in order to accommodate a cost increase in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which would result in decreased[clarification needed] funding for WFIRST in 2020/2021.[14] In the President's FY2020 budget request, termination of WFIRST was proposed again, due to cost overruns and higher priority for JWST.[15]. The telescope received $511 million for FY2020.[16]

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 Science objectives
* 3 Funding history and status
* 4 Institutions, partnerships, and contracts
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links

## Overview

The original design of WFIRST (Design Reference Mission 1), studied in 2011–2012, featured a 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) diameter unobstructed three-mirror anastigmat telescope.[17] It contained a single instrument, a visible to near-infrared imager/slitless prism spectrometer. In 2012, another possibility emerged: NASA could use a second-hand National Reconnaissance Office telescope made by Harris Corporation to accomplish a mission like the one planned for WFIRST. NRO offered to donate two telescopes, the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope but with a shorter focal length and hence a wider field of view.[18] This provided important political momentum to the project, even though the telescope represents only a modest fraction of the cost of the mission and the boundary conditions from the NRO design may push the total cost over that of a fresh design. This mission concept, called WFIRST-AFTA (Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets), was matured by a scientific and technical team;[19] this mission is now the only present NASA plan for the use of the NRO telescopes.[20] The WFIRST baseline design includes a coronagraph to enable the direct imaging of exoplanets.[21]

WFIRST has had a number of different implementations studied (including the Joint Dark Energy Mission-Omega configuration, an Interim Design Reference Mission featuring a 1.3m telescope,[22] Design Reference Mission 1[23] with a 1.3m telescope, Design Reference Mission 2,[24] with a 1.1m telescope, and several iterations of the AFTA 2.4m configuration). In the most recent report,[7] WFIRST was considered for both geosynchronous and L2 orbits. Appendix C documents the disadvantage of L2 vs. geosynchronous in the data rate and propellant, but the advantages for improved observing constraints, better thermal stability, and more benign radiation environment at L2. Some science cases (such as exoplanet microlensing parallax) are improved at L2, and the possibility of robotic servicing at either of the locations requires further study.

The project is led by a team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Project Scientist for WFIRST from its inception until his death in 2017 was Neil Gehrels, who was succeeded by Jeffrey Kruk. The Project Manager is Jamie Dunn, who succeeded Kevin Grady in late 2018. The Program Scientist is Dominic Benford, and the Program Executive is John Gagosian. The Formulation Science Working Group is chaired by the Project Scientist, along with Deputy Chairs David Spergel and Jeremy Kasdin.[25]

On November 30, 2018 NASA announced it had awarded a contract for the telescope.[26] This was for a part called the Optical Telescope Assembly or OTA, and runs to 2025.[26] This is in conjunction with the Goddard Space Flight Center for which the OTA is planned for delivery as part of this contract.[26]

An up-to-date description of the mission's capabilities (as of February 2019) is available in a recent white paper issued by members of the WFIRST team.[27]

## Science objectives

WFIRST presentation by Jason Rhodes at the 2020 American Astronomical Society Conference

The science objectives of WFIRST aim to address cutting-edge questions in cosmology and exoplanet research, including:

* Answering basic questions about dark energy, complementary to the ESA EUCLID mission, and including: Is cosmic acceleration caused by a new energy component or by the breakdown of general relativity on cosmological scales? If the cause is a new energy component, is its energy density constant in space and time, or has it evolved over the history of the universe? WFIRST will use three independent techniques to probe dark energy: baryon acoustic oscillations, observations of distant supernovae, weak gravitational lensing.
* Completing a census of exoplanets to help answer new questions about the potential for life in the universe: How common are solar systems like our own? What kinds of planets exist in the cold, outer regions of planetary systems? – What determines the habitability of Earth-like worlds? This census makes use of a technique that can find exoplanets down to a mass only a few times that of the Moon: gravitational microlensing.
* Establishing a guest investigator mode, enabling survey investigations to answer diverse questions about our galaxy and the universe.
* Providing a coronagraph for exoplanet direct imaging that will provide the first direct images and spectra of planets around our nearest neighbors similar to our own giant planets.

WFIRST will have two instruments. The Wide-Field Instrument (WFI) is a 288-megapixel camera with a 0.28 square degree field of view providing multi-band near-infrared (0.7 to 2.0 micrometers) imaging using a HgCdTe focal-plane array with a pixel size of 110 milliarcseconds. The detector array will be composed of H4RG-10 detectors provided by Teledyne.[28] It includes a grism for wide-field slitless spectroscopy and an integral field spectrograph for small-field spectroscopy. The second instrument is a high contrast coronagraph covering shorter wavelengths (0.4 to 1.0 micrometers) using novel starlight-suppression technology. It is intended to achieve a part-per-billion suppression of starlight to enable the detection of planets only 0.1 arcseconds away from their host stars.

## Funding history and status

Shawn Domagal-Goldman giving a presentation concerning WFIRST.

In fiscal year 2014, Congress provided $56 million for WFIRST, and in 2015 Congress provided $50 million.[29] The fiscal year 2016 spending bill provided $90 million for WFIRST, far above NASA's request of $14 million, allowing the mission to enter the "formulation phase" in February 2016.[29] On February 18, 2016, NASA announced that WFIRST had formally become a project (as opposed to a study), meaning that the agency intends to carry out the mission as baselined;[5] at that time, the "AFTA" portion of the name was dropped as only that approach is being pursued. WFIRST is on a plan for a mid-2020s launch. The total cost of WFIRST is expected at more than $2 billion;[30] NASA's 2015 budget estimate was around $2.0 billion in 2010 dollars, which corresponds to around $2.7 billion in real year (inflation-adjusted) dollars.[31] In April 2017, NASA commissioned an independent review of the project to ensure that the mission scope and cost were understood and aligned.[32] The review acknowledged that WFIRST offers "groundbreaking and unprecedented survey capabilities for dark energy, exoplanet, and general astrophysics", but directed the mission to "reduce cost and complexity sufficient to have a cost estimate consistent with the $3.2B cost target set at the beginning of Phase A."[33] NASA announced the reductions taken in response to this recommendation, and that WFIRST would proceed to its mission design review in February 2018 and begin Phase B by April 2018.[34] NASA confirmed that the changes made to the project had reduced its estimated life cycle cost to $3.2B and that the Phase B decision was on track for completion on April 11, 2018.[35]

The Trump administration's proposed FY2019 budget would terminate WFIRST, citing higher priorities within NASA and the increasing cost of this telescope.[9] The proposed cancellation of the project was met with criticism by professional astronomers, who noted that the American astronomical community had rated WFIRST the highest-priority space mission for the 2020s in the 2010 Decadal Survey.[10][11] The American Astronomical Society expressed "grave concern" about the proposed cancellation, and noted that the estimated lifecycle cost for WFIRST had not changed over the previous two years.[36] However, on March 22–23, Congress approved a FY18 WFIRST budget in excess of the administration's budget request for that year and stated that Congress "rejects the cancellation of scientific priorities recommended by the National Academy of Sciences decadal survey process", and further directed NASA to develop new estimates of WFIRST's total and annual development costs.[12][35] Later, the President announced he had signed the bill March 23, 2018.[37] NASA was funded via a FY2019 appropriations bill on February 15, 2019 with $312M for WFIRST, rejecting the President's Budget Request and reasserting the desire for completion of WFIRST with a planning budget of $3.2B.[38]

Again the Trump administration proposed to terminate WFIRST in its FY2020 budget proposal to Congress.[39] In testimony on March 27, 2019, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine hinted that NASA would continue WFIRST after the James Webb Space Telescope, stating "WFIRST will be a critical mission when James Webb is on orbit."[40] In a March 26, 2019 presentation to the National Academies’ Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics, NASA Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz stated that WFIRST "is maintaining its $3.2 billion cost for now... We need $542 million in FY2020 to stay on track." At that time, it was stated that WFIRST would hold its Preliminary Design Review for the overall mission in October 2019 followed by a formal mission confirmation in early 2020. NASA announced the completion of the Preliminary Design Review on November 1, 2019, but warned that though the mission remained on track for a 2025 launch date, shortfalls in the Senate's FY2020 budget proposal for WFIRST threatened to delay it further.[3]

## Institutions, partnerships, and contracts

The WFIRST project office is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and holds responsibility for overall project management. GSFC also leads development of the Wide-Field Instrument, the spacecraft, and the telescope. The Coronagraphic Instrument is being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Science support activities for WFIRST are shared among Space Telescope Science Institute (Baltimore, Maryland), which is the Science Operations Center; the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (Pasadena, California); and GSFC.

Space agencies from four nations and regions, namely CNES, DLR, ESA, and JAXA are currently in discussion with NASA to provide various components and science support for WFIRST.[41][42] NASA has expressed interest in ESA contributions to the spacecraft, coronagraph and ground station support.[43] For the coronagraph instrument, contributions from Europe and Japan are being discussed.[43] A contribution from Germany's Max Planck Institute for Astronomy is under consideration, namely the filter wheels for the star-blocking mask inside the coronagraph.[44] The Japanese space agency JAXA is proposing to add a polarization module for the coronagraph, plus a polarization compensator. An accurate polarimetry capability on WFIRST may strengthen the science case for exoplanets and planetary disks, which shows polarization.[45][46] In addition to these potential partnerships, Australia has offered ground station contributions for the mission.[47]

In 2011, the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) donated two space telescopes that it did not need anymore.[48] These telescopes are 2.4 meters across, about twice as large as the telescope that had been planned for WFIRST. As a result, the mission has been rebranded as WFIRST-AFTA, “AFTA” stands for Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets.[49]

In May 2018, NASA awarded a multi-year contract to Ball Aerospace to provide key components for the Wide Field Instrument on WFIRST.[50] In June 2018, NASA awarded a contract to Teledyne Scientific and Imaging to provide the infrared detectors for the Wide Field Instrument.[51] On November 30, 2018, NASA announced it had awarded the contract for Optical Telescope Assembly to the Harris Corporation of Rochester, New York.[26]

## See also

* Hubble Space Telescope
* James Webb Space Telescope

## References

1. ↑ "WFIRST Observatory". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 25 April 2014. http://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/observatory/. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "WFIRST-AFTA Science Definition Team Final Report". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 13 February 2015. http://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/sdt_public/WFIRST-AFTA_SDT_Report_Briefing_to_Hertz_150219_Final_RevA.pdf. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Foust, Jeff (11 November 2019). "WFIRST passes preliminary design review". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/wfirst-passes-preliminary-design-review/. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
4. ↑ "Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/wide-field-infrared-survey-telescope-wfirst/. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "NASA Introduces New, Wider Set of Eyes on the Universe" (Press release). 2016-02-18. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
6. ↑ National Research Council (2010). New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Washington, D.C.: National Research Council. ISBN 978-0-309-15802-2. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12951.html. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "WFIRST Science Definition Team 2015 Report". 2015-03-10. http://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/sdt_public/WFIRST-AFTA_SDT_Report_150310_Final.pdf. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
8. ↑ "About WFIRST". NASA. https://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/about.html. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "FY 2019 budget estimates". 2018-02-12. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_fy_2019_budget_overview.pdf. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cofield, Calla (13 February 2018). "What Would it Mean for Astronomers if the WFIRST Space Telescope is Killed?". Space.com. https://www.space.com/39680-wfirst-space-telescope-cancellation-scientist-reactions.html. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Overbye, Dennis (19 February 2018). "Astronomers' Dark Energy Hopes Fade to Gray". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/science/nasa-dark-energy-wfirst.html. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Planetary science wins big in NASA's new spending plan". Jeffrey Brainard (Science AAAS). 23 March 2018. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/planetary-science-wins-big-nasa-s-new-spending-plan. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
13. ↑ Foust, Jeff (2 April 2018). "Federal appropriations process is so extended that it's confusing what year we're in". Space News. https://spacenews.com/foust-forward-federal-appropriations-process-is-so-extended-that-its-confusing-what-year-were-in/. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
14. ↑ Foust, Jeff (2018-07-25). "NASA weighs delaying WFIRST to fund JWST overrun". Space News. https://spacenews.com/nasa-weighs-delaying-wfirst-to-fund-jwst-overrun/. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
15. ↑ FY 2020 Budget Estimates, NASA, March 2020, page ASTRO-34.
16. ↑ "NASA's FY 2020 Budget". The Planetary Society. 2019-12-20. https://www.planetary.org/get-involved/be-a-space-advocate/become-an-expert/fy2020-nasa-budget.html.
17. ↑ Green, J.; Schechter, P.; Baltay, C.; Bean; Bennett, D.; Brown, R.; Conselice, C.; Donahue, M. et al. (2012-08-15), WFIRST Science Definition Team Final Report, Bibcode: 2012arXiv1208.4012G
18. ↑ "Ex-Spy Telescope May Become a Space Investigator - NYTimes.com". 2012-06-04. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/science/space/repurposed-telescope-may-explore-secrets-of-dark-energy.html. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
19. ↑ WFIRST-AFTA SDT Final Report, revision 1, 2013-05-23, http://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/sdt_public/WFIRST-AFTA_SDT_Final_Report_Rev1_130523.pdf, retrieved 2013-09-10
20. ↑ Dan Leone (2013-06-04). "Only NASA Astrophysics Remains in Running for Donated NRO Telescope — For Now; SpaceNews article". http://spacenews.com/35628only-nasa-astrophysics-remains-in-running-for-donated-nro-telescope-for/. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
21. ↑ NASA (2014-04-30). "WFIRST Science Definition Team Interim Report". http://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/sdt_public/WFIRST-AFTA_SDT_Interim_Report_April_2014.pdf. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
22. ↑ Green & Schechter (2011-07-11). "WFIRST IDRM". http://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/sdt_public/WFIRST_Interim_Report.pdf. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
23. ↑ "WFIRST DRM1". 2012-05-17. http://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/sdt/sdt_2010_2011/meetings/2012_May/DRM1_120517.pdf. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
24. ↑ Green & Schechter (2012-08-15). WFIRST DRM2. Bibcode: 2012arXiv1208.4012G.
25. ↑ Sullivan, John (2016-02-18). "Princeton professors to lead NASA science team probing universe and planets" (Press release). Princeton. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 "NASA Awards Optical Telescope Assembly for Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope Mission" (in en). Idaho State Journal. https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/national/nasa-awards-optical-telescope-assembly-for-wide-field-infrared-survey/article_c775c1ae-014d-5e8d-873f-1f5bd8c8c61b.html.
27. ↑ Weinberg, David; Wang, Yun; von der Linden, Anja; van der Marel, Roeland; Turnbull, Margaret; Troxel, M. A.; Trauger, John; Szalay, Alexander et al. (14 February 2019) (in en). The Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope: 100 Hubbles for the 2020s.
28. ↑ Rauscher, Bernard. "Introduction to WFIRST H4RG-10 Detector Arrays". https://wfirst.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/presentations/vugraphs/160202WFIRSTSDTH4RG10C.pdf.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Foust, Jeff (7 January 2016). "NASA's Next Major Space Telescope Project Officially Starts in February". Space.com. http://www.space.com/31533-nasa-wfirst-major-space-telescope-project.html?adbid=10153245128716466&adbpl=fb&adbpr=17610706465. Retrieved 2016-01-09.
30. ↑ Daniel Clery (2016-02-19). "NASA moves ahead with its next space telescope". Science Magazine. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/nasa-moves-ahead-its-next-space-telescope. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
31. ↑ "NASA Astrophysics: Progress toward New Worlds, New Horizons, page 44". NRC. 2015-10-08. http://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/ssbsite/documents/webpage/ssb_168722.pdf. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
32. ↑ "NASA Taking a Fresh Look at Next Generation Space Telescope Plans". 2017-04-17. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-taking-a-fresh-look-at-next-generation-space-telescope-plans. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
33. ↑ "NASA Receives Findings from WFIRST Independent Review Team". 2017-10-19. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-receives-findings-from-wfirst-independent-review-team. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
34. ↑ Jeff Foust (2018-01-09). "NASA plans to have WFIRST reviews complete by April". Space News. http://spacenews.com/nasa-plans-to-have-wfirst-reviews-complete-by-april/. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Jeff Foust (2018-03-28). "WFIRST work continues despite budget and schedule uncertainty". Space News. http://spacenews.com/wfirst-work-continues-despite-budget-and-schedule-uncertainty/. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
36. ↑ Joel Parriott (2018-02-14). "American Astronomical Society Leaders Concerned with Proposed Cancellation of WFIRST". AAS. https://aas.org/posts/news/2018/02/aas-leaders-concerned-proposed-cancellation-wfirst. Retrieved 2018-02-21.
37. ↑ "President Signs FY 2018 Omnibus with $3 Billion NIH Increase, Boost for Other Health Programs". Tannaz Rasouli et al (AAMC). 23 March 2018. https://www.aamc.org/advocacy/washhigh/highlights2018/488058/032318presidentsignsfy2018omnibuswith3billionnihincreaseboostfor.html. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
38. ↑ Ashlee Wilkins (2019-02-22). "Astronomical Sciences in the Final FY 2019 Spending Agreement". https://aas.org/posts/blog/2019/02/astronomical-sciences-final-fy-2019-spending-agreement. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
39. ↑ "NASA FY2020 Budget Request". 11 March 2019. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/fy2020_agency_fact_sheet.pdf. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
40. ↑ Jeff Foust (28 March 2019). "WFIRST faces funding crunch". Space News. https://spacenews.com/wfirst-faces-funding-crunch/. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
41. ↑ Hertz, Paul (15 July 2019). "NASA Astrophysics" (PDF). https://www.aip.org/sites/default/files/aipcorp/images/fyi/pdf/hertz-astro2020-kickoff-slides.pdf#page=48.
42. ↑ Foust, Jeff (January 9, 2018). "NASA plans to have WFIRST reviews complete by April". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/nasa-plans-to-have-wfirst-reviews-complete-by-april/. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Benford, Dominic (1 March 2016). "WFIRST Programmatic Overview" (PDF). NASA. https://conference.ipac.caltech.edu/wfirst2016/system/media_files/binaries/68/original/WFIRSTCA_Benford_rev2_web.pdf#page=5.
44. ↑ Zhao, Feng; Grady, Trauger (29 July 2018). "WFIRST Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) Status". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/system/presentations/files/88_Zhao_WFIRST_CGI.pdf.
45. ↑ Yamada, Toru (10 January 2017). "WFIRST". Subaru Telescope. https://www.naoj.org/Science/SubaruUM/SubaruUM2016/files/d3_1350_Yamada.pdf.
46. ↑ Sumi, Takahiro; Yamada, Toru; Tamura, Motohide; Takada, Masahiro (5 January 2017). "WFIRST(Wide Field Infra Red Survey Telescope)" (in Japanese). JAXA. https://repository.exst.jaxa.jp/dspace/handle/a-is/609734.
47. ↑ Gehrels, Neil; Grady, Kevin (21 July 2016). "WFIRST STATUS" (PDF). NASA. https://smd-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/science-red/s3fs-public/atoms/files/Gehrels_WFIRST APS Neil2KGRev3_TAGGED.pdf#page=21.
48. ↑ "NASA Still Intends To Use Donated Spy Telescope for Dark Energy Mission". https://spacenews.com/40010nasa-still-intends-to-use-donated-spy-telescope-for-dark-energy-mission/.
49. ↑ "WFIRST-AFTA: Groundbreaking Space Observatory to Image Exoplanets and Tackle a Universe of Questions". https://www.nasa.gov/feature/wfirst-afta-groundbreaking-space-observatory-to-image-exoplanets-and-tackle-a-universe-of.
50. ↑ Brown, Katherine (2018-05-23). "NASA Awards Contract for Space Telescope Mission" (in en). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-contract-for-space-telescope-mission-0.
51. ↑ O'Carroll, Cynthia M. (2018-06-15). "NASA Awards the Short Wave Infra-Red Sensor Chip Assembly for WFIRST" (in en). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2018/nasa-awards-the-short-wave-infra-red-sensor-chip-assembly-for-wfirst.

## External links

* WFIRST page at Goddard Space Flight Center site
* WFIRST Science Data Center page at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)
* "Astro2010 Report Release Presentation". http://sites.nationalacademies.org/xpedio/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=BPA_058306&RevisionSelectionMethod=Latest.
* $1.6 Billion Telescope Would Search Alien Planets and Probe Dark Energy -- Space.com
* The WFIRST/AFTA astrophysics mission: bigger and better for exoplanets, Tom Greene
* NASA/ Goddard – WFIRST: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Universe on YouTube (min. 1:25) May 30, 2014
* WFIRST-AFTA: Coronograph Technology Development on YouTube (min. 4:20) Mar 16, 2015
* WFIRST: The Best of Both Worlds on YouTube (min. 3:14) Feb 18, 2016

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* Van Allen Probes
* Solar Dynamics Observatory
* Juno
* Mars Science Laboratory
* timeline
* NuSTAR
* Voyager 1
* Voyager 2
* WISE
* MAVEN
* MMS
* OSIRIS-REx
* Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

Future|

* Joint Polar Satellite System
* James Webb Space Telescope
* Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope
* Mars 2020
* NISAR
* Europa Clipper

Communications
and navigation|

* Near Earth Network
* Space Network
* Deep Space Network (Goldstone
* Madrid
* Canberra
* Space Flight Operations Facility)
* Deep Space Atomic Clock

NASA lists|

* Astronauts
* by name
* by year
* Gemini astronauts
* Apollo astronauts
* List of NASA aircraft
* List of NASA missions
* uncrewed missions
* List of NASA contractors
* List of United States rockets
* List of NASA cancellations
* List of Space Shuttle missions
* crews
* List of NASA cameras on spacecraft

NASA images
and artwork|

* Earthrise
* The Blue Marble
* Family Portrait
* Pale Blue Dot
* Pillars of Creation
* Mystic Mountain
* Solar System Family Portrait
* The Day the Earth Smiled
* Fallen Astronaut
* Lunar plaques
* Pioneer plaques
* Voyager Golden Record
* Apollo 11 goodwill messages
* NASA insignia
* Gemini and Apollo medallions
* Mission patches

Related|

* Apollo 15 postal covers incident
* Space Mirror Memorial
* The Astronaut Monument
* U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
* Space program on U.S. stamps
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Other primates in space
* NASA spinoff technologies

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Space observatories

Operating|

* AGILE (since 2007)
* AMS-02 (since 2011)
* Aoi (since 2018)
* ASTERIA (since 2017)
* Astrosat (since 2015)
* BRITE constellation (since 2013)
* CALET (since 2015)
* Chandra (AXAF) (since 1999)
* DAMPE (since 2015)
* Fermi (since 2008)
* Gaia (since 2013)
* HXMT (Insight) (since 2017)
* Hinode (Solar-B) (since 2006)
* HiRISE (since 2005)
* Hisaki (SPRINT-A) (since 2013)
* Hubble (since 1990)
* INTEGRAL (since 2002)
* IBEX (since 2008)
* IRIS (since 2013)
* ISS-CREAM (since 2017)
* MAXI (since 2009)
* Mikhailo Lomonosov (since 2016)
* Mini-EUSO (since 2019)
* NCLE (since 2018)
* NEOSSat (since 2013)
* NICER (since 2017)
* NuSTAR (since 2012)
* Odin (since 2001)
* SDO (since 2010)
* SOHO (since 1995)
* SOLAR (since 2008)
* Spektr-RG (since 2019)
* Spitzer (since 2003)
* STEREO (since 2006)
* Swift (since 2004)
* TESS (since 2018)
* WISE (since 2009)
* XMM-Newton (since 1999)

Planned|

* CHEOPS (2019)
* iWF-MAXI (2019)
* Astro-1 Telescope (2020)
* ILO-1 (2020)
* LUCI (2020)
* Nano-JASMINE (2020)
* ORBIS (2020)
* Solar Orbiter (SolO) (2020)
* IXPE (2021)
* James Webb (JWST) (2021)
* LORD (2021)
* SVOM (2021)
* XPoSat (2021)
* Euclid (2022)
* Space Solar Telescope (2022)
* XRISM (2022)
* Xuntian (2022)
* K-EUSO (2023)
* Solar-C (2023)
* SPHEREx (2023)
* Small-JASMINE (2024)
* Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission (2025+)
* Spektr-UV (2025)
* WFIRST (2025+)
* PLATO (2026)
* LiteBIRD (2027)
* ARIEL (2028)
* Spektr-M (2030+)
* ATHENA (2031)
* LISA (2034)

Proposed|

* Arcus
* AstroSat-2
* EXCEDE
* Fresnel Imager
* FOCAL
* HabEx
* Hibari
* Hypertelescope
* JEM-EUSO
* LUVOIR
* ATLAST
* HDST
* Lynx
* Nautilus Deep Space Observatory
* New Worlds Mission
* NRO donation to NASA
* OST
* PhoENiX
* Solar-D
* SPICA
* THEIA
* THESEUS

Retired|

* Akari (Astro-F) (2006–2011)
* ALEXIS (1993–2005)
* Alouette 1 (1962–1972)
* Ariel 1 (1962, 1964)
* Ariel 2 (1964)
* Ariel 3 (1967–1969)
* Ariel 4 (1971–1972)
* Ariel 5 (1974–1980)
* Ariel 6 (1979–1982)
* ATM (1973–1974)
* ASCA (Astro-D) (1993–2000)
* Astro-1 (1990)
* BBXRT
* HUT
* Astro-2 (HUT) (1995)
* Astron (1983–1989)
* ANS (1974–1976)
* BeppoSAX (1996–2003)
* CHIPSat (2003–2008)
* Compton (CGRO) (1991–2000)
* CoRoT (2006–2013)
* Cos-B (1975–1982)
* COBE (1989–1993)
* DXS (1993)
* EPOCh (2008)
* EPOXI (2010)
* Explorer 11 (1961)
* EXOSAT (1983–1986)
* EUVE (1992–2001)
* FUSE (1999–2007)
* Kvant-1 (1987–2001)
* GALEX (2003–2013)
* Gamma (1990–1992)
* Ginga (Astro-C) (1987–1991)
* Granat (1989–1998)
* Hakucho (CORSA-b) (1979–1985)
* HALCA (MUSES-B) (1997–2005)
* HEAO-1 (1977–1979)
* Herschel (2009–2013)
* Hinotori (Astro-A) (1981–1991)
* HEAO-2 (Einstein Obs.) (1978–1982)
* HEAO-3 (1979–1981)
* HETE-2 (2000–2008)
* Hipparcos (1989–1993)
* IUE (1978–1996)
* IRAS (1983)
* IRTS (1995–1996)
* ISO (1996–1998)
* IXAE (1996–2004)
* Kepler (2009–2018)
* Kristall (1990–2001)
* LEGRI (1997–2002)
* LISA Pathfinder (2015–2017)
* MOST (2003–2019)
* MSX (1996–1997)
* OAO-2 (1968–1973)
* OAO-3 (Copernicus) (1972–1981)
* Orbiting Solar Observatory
* OSO 1
* OSO 2/OSO B
* OSO 3
* OSO 4
* OSO 5
* OSO 6
* OSO 7
* OSO 8
* Orion 1 (1971)
* Orion 2 (1973)
* PAMELA (2006–2016)
* PicSat (2018)
* Planck (2009–2013)
* RELIKT-1 (1983–1984)
* R/HESSI (2002–2018)
* ROSAT (1990–1999)
* RXTE (1995–2012)
* SAMPEX (1992–2004)
* SAS-B (1972–1973)
* SAS-C (1975–1979)
* Solwind (1979–1985)
* Spektr-R (2011–2019)
* Suzaku (Astro-EII) (2005–2015)
* Taiyo (SRATS) (1975–1980)
* Tenma (Astro-B) (1983–1985)
* Uhuru (1970–1973)
* Vanguard 3 (1959)
* WMAP (2001–2010)
* Yokoh (Solar-A) (1991–2001)

Hibernating
(Mission completed)|

* SWAS (1998–2005)
* TRACE (1998–2010)

Lost|

* OAO-1 (1966)
* OAO-B (1970)
* CORSA (1976)
* OSO C (1965)
* ABRIXAS (1999)
* HETE-1 (1996)
* WIRE (1999)
* Astro-E (2000)
* Tsubame (2014–2015)
* Hitomi (Astro-H) (2016)

Cancelled|

* AOSO
* Astro-G
* Constellation-X
* Darwin
* Destiny
* EChO
* Eddington
* FAME
* FINESSE
* GEMS
* HOP
* IXO
* JDEM
* LOFT
* OSO J
* OSO K
* Sentinel
* SIM & SIMlite
* SNAP
* SPOrt
* TAUVEX
* TPF
* XEUS
* XIPE

See also|

* Great Observatories program
* List of space telescopes
* List of proposed space observatories
* List of X-ray space telescopes

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Exoplanet search projects

* Exoplanetology
* Exoplanet

Ground-based|

* AAPS
* APF
* CORALIE
* EAPSNet
* ELODIE
* EPICS
* ESPRESSO
* FINDS Exo-Earths
* Geneva
* HARPS
* HARPS-N
* GPI
* HATNet
* HEK
* HiCIAO
* HIRES
* KELT
* LCES
* Magellan
* MARVELS
* MASCARA
* MEarth
* MicroFUN
* MINERVA
* Australis
* MOA
* N2K
* NGTS
* NESSI
* OGLE
* OPSP
* PlanetPol
* Project 1640
* PARAS
* SEEDS
* SETI
* SOPHIE
* SPECULOOS
* SPHERE
* SuperWASP
* Systemic
* TrES
* XO Telescope
* ZIMPOL/CHEOPS

Space missions|

| Past|

* MOST (2003–2019)
* SWEEPS using HST (2006)
* CoRoT (2006–2013)
* EPOXI using Deep Impact (2008–2013)
* Kepler (2009–2018)
* detected exoplanets

|

Current|

* Gaia (2013–present)
* ASTERIA (2017–present)
* TESS (2018–present)

Planned|

* CHEOPS (2019)
* James Webb Space Telescope (2021)
* PLATO (2026)
* ARIEL (2028)
* WFIRST (mid-2020s)

Proposed|

* ATLAST
* EXCEDE
* HabEx
* HDST
* LUVOIR
* Nautilus Deep Space Observatory
* New Worlds Mission
* OST
* PEGASE

Cancelled|

* Darwin
* EChO
* Eddington
* Space Interferometry Mission
* Terrestrial Planet Finder

* Detection methods
* Discoveries of exoplanets
* Lists of exoplanets
* nearest

* v
* t
* e

Future spaceflights

Crewed|

| 2020|

* Soyuz MS-16 (April)
* Soyuz MS-17 (October)
* Shenzhou 12
* Crew Dragon Demo-2
* Boeing Crewed Flight Test
* USCV-1
* USCV-2
* New Shepard (crewed flight test)
* VSS Unity VF02

|

2021|

* Gaganyaan Crewed Flight 1
* Shenzhou 13
* USCV-3

2022|

* Artemis 2

2023+|

* #dearMoon project (2023)
* Artemis 3 (2024)

Robotic|

| 2020|

* AFSPC-7
* ALOS-3
* ALOS-4
* Artemis 1 (November)
* Orion
* Lunar Flashlight
* NEA Scout
* BioSentinel
* SkyFire
* Lunar IceCube
* CuSP
* LunaH-Map
* EQUULEUS
* OMOTENASHI
* ArgoMoon
* Cislunar Explorers
* CU-E3
* Team Miles
* Chandrayaan-3
* Chang'e 5
* GSAT-20
* Hope Mars Mission (July)
* HX-1 (July–August)
* Ingenio
* Inmarsat-6 F1
* JCSAT-17
* Kounotori 9 (May)
* Mars 2020 (July–August)
* MX-1E (July)
* Nauka / European Robotic Arm (December)
* QZS-1R
* RAPIS-2 / Z-Sat / DRUMS / KOSEN-1
* Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok lander (July)
* Solar Orbiter (February)
* Space Complex Alpha
* TARANIS

|

2021|

* Aditya-L1
* Astrobotic M1 (June)
* AEM rovers
* Uni
* EXA/AEC lunar orbiter
* B330
* CAPSTONE (December)
* DART / LICIA (June)
* Dream Chaser (September)
* Hakuto-R M1 (October)
* IXPE (April)
* James Webb Space Telescope (March)
* Landsat 9 (January)
* Lucy (October)
* Luna 25 (July)
* Nova-C (July)
* PROBA-3 (Q2)
* PTScientists
* Tianhe
* SES-17
* Space RIDER
* UN/Dream Chaser
* Wentian
* XPoSat

2022|

* Biomass (October)
* DESTINY+
* EarthCARE (June)
* Euclid (June)
* HTV-X1
* JUICE (June)
* KPLO (July)
* MetOp-SG Series A
* NISAR (September)
* Power and Propulsion Element (December)
* Prichal
* Psyche (August)
* PUNCH / TRACERS
* Soyuz GVK-1
* SpaceX Starship (1st Mars departure)
* TEREX-1
* Weather System Follow-on Microwave
* XRISM / SLIM (January)

2023|

* Chang'e 7
* Hakuto-R M2 (March)
* MetOp-SG Series B
* QZS-5
* QZS-6
* QZS-7
* Shukrayaan-1
* SMILE
* SPHEREx

2024+|

* Chang'e 6 (2023 or 2024)
* FLEX
* GOES-U (2024)
* Hera / APEX / Juventas (October 2024)
* IMAP / SWFO-L1 (October 2024)
* Luna 26 (2024)
* MMX (September 2024)
* MOM 2 (2024)
* Small-JASMINE (2024)
* ZhengHe (2024)
* Europa Clipper (2025)
* Luna 27 (2025)
* Luna 28 (2025+)
* Spektr-UV (2025)
* Dragonfly (2026)
* PLATO (2026)
* Venera-D (2026 or 2031)
* Chang'e 8 (2027)
* LiteBIRD (2027)
* ARIEL / Comet Interceptor]] (2028)
* ATHENA (2031)
* LISA (2034)

TBA|

* Energia-100
* Europa Lander (2025?)
* KiwiSAT
* Lybid 1
* Nano-JASMINE
* Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission
* WFIRST (mid-2020s)

Recently
launched|

* Progress MS-13 (6 December)
* Jilin-1 Gaofen-02B (7 December)
* HEAD-2A / 2B (7 December)
* GLONASS-M List of GLONASS satellites

* List of proposed missions to the Moon
* List of proposed space observatories

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