To study the cosmos, astronomers can rely on cutting-edge space telescopes like the famous James Webb, good old Hubble, or even Chandra and Fermi. A new name will soon be added to this prestigious list: it will be either PRIMA or AXIS, two very promising concepts which will compete remotely to obtain a place in NASA’s scientific armada.
These two projects emerged from a long preliminary selection process through which NASA chose the two machines that seemed most interesting to it – but it will only finance one of them. The two teams will therefore have to spend the year 2025 working hard to demonstrate the potential of their project thanks to a preliminary allocation of $5 million. At the end of the process, the American agency will select a big winner which will be deployed by 2032.
Two devices with great potential
On the one hand, we have the PRIMA (Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), a machine imagined by the prestigious NASA Goddard center in collaboration with other American and European researchers. Its purpose is to observe the universe in extreme infrared. This will allow it to collect valuable information on the formation and composition of planets, the evolution of galaxies, as well as the flows of interstellar dust and heavy elements that shape the cosmos.
On the other, we find theAXIS (Advanced X-Ray Imaging Satellite), a project born at the University of Maryland. Unlike PRIMA, it will rather specialize in X-rays. It will focus in particular on the observation of supermassive black holes located at the centers of the oldest galaxies spotted by the James Webb. It is also a particularly promising subject, because such observations could offer us new insights into the dynamics of the early Universe and how it has evolved until today.
« Both concepts could pave the way for groundbreaking science addressing the decade’s top astrophysics priorities, helping us develop key technologies for future flagship missions. said Nicola Fox, deputy administrator of NASA’s science board. Suffice it to say that the choice looks difficult, because both machines have very serious arguments.
Is there a favorite?
At first glance, it appears that AXIS has a slight advantage due to its preferred frequency.
Indeed, at present, there is only one major space observatory that is capable of observing in the X-ray domain: Chandra. It’s a fabulous machine that has contributed to a number of absolutely major discoveries since its deployment in 1999. Unfortunately, its obsolescence becomes more and more glaring with each passing day. Its biggest problem is its insulation coating which is visibly deteriorating. It is therefore extremely complicated to maintain the instruments at an acceptable temperature. As a result, it is increasingly expensive and difficult to operate, so much so that NASA is considering putting it into early retirement in the near future.
A terrifying prospect for many astronomers, who have multiplied the forums and open letters to ask NASA to keep him on a drip. Because otherwise, they would no longer have the slightest cutting-edge observatory in the field of X-rays – a big gap which would have particularly serious implications on overall scientific production.
But being a potential successor to Chandra won’t be enough to win the NASA contract, because PRIMA would also work in an under-exploited frequency range. At first glance, its specialization in infrared might seem redundant, knowing that this is the specialty of the formidable James Webb Space Telescope which continues to push the limits of astrophysics.
But it would not actually be a duplicate. Its target, extreme infrared, is indeed positioned halfway between the preferred frequencies of terrestrial radio telescopes and the James Webb. PRIMA could therefore also form an explosive couple with the latter.
For the moment, it is therefore practically impossible to make a prognosis; both concepts would be capable of producing high-level science, and the final verdict will essentially depend on what the two teams will succeed in showing between now and 2026. We will therefore see you at the end of the year next to find out which of these two telescopes will win a budget of a billion dollars as well as the right to join the space armada of astrophysicists at the start of the next decade.
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