UMass Amherst astronomer is science team lead for new NASA space telescope
Reported by eurekalert.org, not nibnow. We are not the publisher of this story, only the source is.
The appointment puts a UMass Amherst professor in charge of the scientific direction of NASA's new PRIMA telescope, which will explore previously unobserved infrared wavelengths and could reveal unknown aspects of the universe.
Alexandra Pope, an astronomy professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been appointed as the Science Team Lead for PRIMA, a new space telescope recently announced by NASA. This mission, formally known as the Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, aims to investigate sections of the infrared spectrum that have not yet been observed. Jason Glenn, a professor at the University of Virginia, led the initial concept development for the project. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which operates under the management of Caltech for NASA, is responsible for overseeing the program.
NASA space telescopes are designed to observe the cosmos beyond what ground-based instruments can see; infrared astronomy lets scientists study cool objects and dust-obscured regions that are invisible in visible light.
- •Follow announcements of PRIMA's design reviews and funding milestones
- •Watch for the scheduled launch date and early‑mission testing updates
- •Monitor the release of first scientific data and findings from the telescope