NASA teases new PRIMA telescope that could see what even the James Webb telescope can't

NASA is moving forward with designing a new space telescope that can see even deeper into the infrared universe than the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can.

The new mission, called PRIMA (Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), is continuing its development to Phase B — the preliminary design and tech phase — according to a NASA statement . Managers will review the mission's progress before officially beginning the telescope's journey to launch; if all goes to plan, PRIMA will embark on a five-year mission no earlier than 2033.

PRIMA's objective is to use a 5.9-foot [1.8 meters] telescope to examine the cosmos in the far-infrared, in a different set of wavelengths than the more famous JWST , which launched in 2021. (Other telescopes, such as Hubble and the newly launched Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope , can also see some infrared wavelengths, but JWST was specifically designed to detect near- and mid-infrared light .) PRIMA's mission focus will be to uncover more information about exoplanet origins, galaxy growth and black hole evolution.

"The key science questions that PRIMA aims to address in relation to planet formation are to quantify the role of water in driving planet formation, [and to] determine the total gas masses and carbon and oxygen abundances in disks to reveal where exoplanets form," Meredith MacGregor , an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University who studies how planetary systems form, told Live Science in an email.

"We can't actually address these science questions with JWST," MacGregor added, "because the spectral lines that are required are only in the far-infrared — longer wavelengths than JWST is sensitive to."

The University of Maryland (UMD) and Caltech, which helped develop the mission, each issued statements about the upcoming work.

"I'm most excited about the things I don't yet know," Alberto Bolatto , an observational astronomer at UMD and a co-investigator who leads galaxy evolution research for PRIMA, said in a statement . "I am elated to be part of the future of astronomy — to produce an instrument that is going to be an enormous tool for the astronomy community to move humanity's knowledge forward."

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