NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has only been operational for less than two years, but scientists are already preparing for their next big extraterrestrial exploration tool. An astrophysicist working with NASA on the search for Earth-like exoplanets suggests that the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) could find proof of alien life ‘in our lifetime.’
The HWO Project
This summer, three NASA contracts totaling $17.5 million will begin, focusing on constructing HWO’s next-generation hardware and the code needed to capture detailed data from nearby exoplanets. However, before HWO becomes operational in about 15 years, it will face competition from other projects, such as those claiming alien life has already been found on exoplanet K2-18b.
Debates and Developments
While scientists debate the James Webb data on K2-18b — with some research in *Astrophysical Journal Letters* suggesting that alleged ‘biosignatures’ from the planet might be exaggerated — NASA’s team continues to strategize on how HWO could definitively prove the existence of extraterrestrial life.
Dr. Courtney Dressing, a co-leader of HWO’s Science Architecture Review Team (START) and a Berkeley astronomer, proposed equipping HWO with the ability to detect a ‘wide variety of biosignatures,’ including: – Biogenic gases produced by living organisms – Aerosols and other airborne pollutants – Surface biosignatures like the infrared heat produced by vegetation – Artificial technosignatures made by a civilized alien race
Challenges and Optimism
For HWO to surpass the James Webb’s analysis of K2-18b, its designers must develop more reliable signs of life and gather additional information about the planets and their systems to interpret biosignatures accurately and rule out false positives. Despite these challenges, Dr. Jessie Christiansen, chief scientist for NASA’s Exoplanet Science Institute at CalTech, believes that HWO could find proof of extraterrestrial life soon after its launch in 2040.
Preparing for the Future
Dr. Christiansen explained that part of her job is to define the scientific questions that the HWO should answer, determining the telescope’s size, target area, and observation duration needed. This information is then presented to NASA with a request to build the telescope.
Building on the technology and success of the James Webb Telescope, NASA aims to develop a multi-billion-dollar successor to search for life on Earth-like planets by the early 2040s. Contractors Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Ball Aerospace (BAE Systems) will begin their work on the HWO this summer. Their $17.5 million effort includes developing ‘ultra-stable’ optical sensor systems to ensure HWO operates efficiently in space.
Potential Impact
NASA hopes the US government will allocate $11 billion in total for the HWO project. By the end of its mission, which aims to directly image at least 25 potentially habitable worlds, Dr. Christiansen believes the discovery of alien life could revolutionize life, religion, philosophy, and science. However, she admits that the public’s reaction might be less dramatic than expected, possibly just a headline for a day before everyone returns to their routines.
