SPACE
The Moonshot
Mission : The Lunar Crater Radio Telescope Partner : The NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in California Concept : Design the solar system ’ s largest ‘ filled-aperture ’ radio telescope for deployment in a crater on the far side of the moon .
“ This mission is designed to detect radio waves generated in the first 5 to 50 million years after the Big Bang by looking far away in space and , therefore , in time . Data processing will reveal how the Universe was expanding and how matter was clumping together to reveal the invisible constituents of the Universe – dark matter and energy . Locating the telescope on the far side of the Moon means signals are unobstructed by radio interference generated on Earth and enables the telescope to detect very long wave radio waves that otherwise bounce off the Earth ’ s atmosphere .” – Professor David Bacon
LISA
Mission : The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna ( LISA ) Partners : NASA , the European Space Agency ( ESA ) and an international consortium of scientists Concept : Design a space-based observatory to detect gravitational waves .
“ Gravitational waves are created when supermassive black holes merge or collide and create distortions in spacetime . For the first time ever , we are proposing to use gravitational waves as the basis of astronomical observations to look at parts of the Universe that are invisible to light . We ’ ll be able to learn more about the structure of galaxies , stellar evolution , the early Universe and the nature of spacetime and gravity . LISA will be deployed in space in a triangle configuration and measure the time it takes a laser beam to travel between satellites in the array . As gravitational waves pass through space , they should stretch and squeeze spacetime , thereby changing the distance between LISA ’ s satellites . That will give us a signal in the form of ripples in spacetime .”
– Dr Laura Nuttall
Euclid
Mission : The Euclid Space Consortium Partners : ESA and a consortium of 1,000 scientists from 100 institutes in the UK , Europe and Canada Concept : Probe the history of the expansion of the Universe and the formation of cosmic structures .
“ Euclid is a space telescope designed to map the threedimensional distribution of up to two billion galaxies and their associated dark matter and dark energy . The mission aims to understand the evolution of the Universe over the past ten billion years and the true nature and influence of dark energy on the shapes and locations of galaxies across the Universe . The UK and ICG has been involved with Euclid since the early design days , including the successful science precursor to Euclid , the Dark Universe Explorer ( DUNE ) between 2008 and 2011 .”
– Professor Adam Amara
Athena
Mission : The Advanced Telescope for High- ENergy Astrophysics Partners : The ESA Concept : Map hot gas structures , determine their physical properties and search for supermassive black holes .
“ Athena is an X-ray telescope designed to observe high-energy emissions from a variety of astrophysical phenomena to address fundamental questions in astrophysics . Included are the emissions from very hot material just before it is swallowed by a black hole in order to measure distortions due to gravitational lightbending and time-delay effects in this extreme environment . Athena will also determine the spin of the black hole itself .”
– Professor Claudia Maraston
JWST
Mission : The James Webb Space Telescope Partners : NASA , the ESA and the Canadian Space Agency ( CSA ) Concept : Designed to conduct infrared astronomy , the JWST is the most powerful telescope ever launched into space .
“ The JWST ’ s sensitivity and resolution allows it to view objects too old , distant or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope . Included are observations of the first stars and galaxies formed within our universe . However , its first task will be to characterise two rocky worlds in unprecedented detail : the lava-covered 55 Cancri and the airless LHS 3844 b . It is an ambitious agenda to study geology from 50 light years away . The James Webb Space Telescope transmitted its first ever images on 12 July 2022 .”
– Professor Claudia Maraston
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