Operational Missions

Spitzer: The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF), the last in NASA's series of Great Observatories, was launched on August 25, 2003. A 0.85-meter diameter lightweight telescope and three cryogenically-cooled science instruments combine to provide imaging and spectroscopy from 3-180 microns. Incorporating large-format detector arrays and innovative choices in orbit and cryogenic architecture, Spitzer offers orders-of-magnitude improvements in capability over previous infrared telescopes. Spitzer is being used to study phenomena ranging from our Solar System to the distant reaches of the Universe, and represents an important scientific and technical cornerstone of NASA's Astronomical Search for Origins Program.

GALEX: The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), launched on April 28th, 2003, is a NASA Small Explorer mission designed to provide broadband imaging and spectroscopy at ultraviolet wavelengths. GALEX's observations are being used to help explain how galaxies evolve and change, and to investigate the causes of star formation during a period when most of the stars and elements we see today had their origins. GALEX is conducting several first-of-a-kind sky surveys, including an extra-galactic ultraviolet all-sky survey. During its mission GALEX will produce the first comprehensive map of a Universe of galaxies under construction, bringing us closer to understanding how galaxies like our own Milky Way were formed.

KI: The Keck Interferometer (KI) unites the twin 10-meter Keck Telescopes in Hawaii to create the largest optical/near-infrared interferometer in the world, equivalent to a single 85-m diameter telescope with a spatial resolution of 5 milliarcseconds in the near-IR. The inaugural configuration was successfully tested in early 2001, and smaller outrigger elements will be added to the array in the near future. Key science programs for KI include searching for other planetary systems from their astrometric signature and by their emitted light, as well as characterizing the exo-zodiacal dust environment around nearby stars.

PTI: The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) is a near-infrared stellar interferometer located at Palomar Observatory and operated by JPL. Three small telescopes along a 110-m baseline provide a ground-based facility for testing several key technologies for future space-borne interferometers. PTI is designed to detect planetary-mass companions to nearby stars through their gravitational influences. In operation since 1995, PTI continues to provide an engineering and science facility for refining differential astrometry and fringe amplitude measurements.

Missions in Development

Proposed Missions

Past Missions