Alexandra Pope, a professor at UMass Amherst, is part of one of two teams chosen by NASA to spend the next 12 months developing mission concepts that will observe X-ray and far-infrared light from space. Pope's team is focused on developing PRIMA (Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), a mission designed to fill a significant observational gap. Following a detailed review of the $5 million studies, NASA plans to select one of the mission concepts in 2026 for full-scale development, with an anticipated $1 billion budget and a launch scheduled for 2032.
"One of the things that is so exciting about PRIMA is that it is going to fill in the gap between the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Alma Large Millimeter Array, or ALMA, in Chile," Pope explained. Both telescopes observe parts of the infrared spectrum, with JWST covering up to 28 microns and ALMA above 300 microns. PRIMA, however, is designed to observe the range between 28 and 300 microns, a range currently unobservable. "It's an enormous gap," Pope said, "and filling it will not only allow us to address three key science goals, it will open vast areas of research to the wider astronomy community."
The PRIMA team, led by principal investigator Jason Glenn from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, aims to address three fundamental scientific questions. First, they seek to understand how planetary atmospheres form and, particularly, how water reaches a planet. Through infrared spectroscopy, PRIMA will trace cool water within planet-forming disks, offering insights into the building blocks of life.
Second, the mission will investigate the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies. Finally, PRIMA will explore how the universe created elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, the first elements released after the Big Bang. By analyzing cosmic dust across different environments and time periods, the team aims to learn how these elements developed.
If selected, PRIMA will become the first mission in a new class of NASA astrophysics initiatives within the Explorers Program. This Probe Explorers class aims to bridge the gap between NASA's flagship missions and smaller-scale space investigations, expanding NASA's toolkit for unraveling the universe's mysteries.
As science lead for the project, Pope is responsible for guiding the research objectives and shaping the design of the satellite's instruments. She is particularly enthusiastic about the potential PRIMA offers to understand the relationship between galaxies and supermassive black holes. "My group at UMass Amherst studies the co-evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes," Pope said. "I've spent my career working on this, and PRIMA is the ultimate tool that can help us understand the relationship between the two."
Pope noted that while supermassive black holes are believed to exist at the center of every massive galaxy, including the Milky Way, the ways in which galaxies and their black holes grow appear to be quite different. "How the two co-evolve remains an open question," she said, adding that PRIMA's infrared instruments will be critical for studying this interaction, as they can penetrate the cosmic dust that often obscures both black holes and galaxies.
Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, emphasized the importance of such missions, stating, "NASA's Explorers Program brings out some of the most creative ideas for missions that help us reveal the unknown about our universe. Establishing this new line of missions - the largest our astrophysics program has ever competed - has taken that creativity to new heights."
The development of PRIMA follows recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's 2020 Decadal Survey, which called for NASA to create a new mission class dedicated to observing X-ray or far-infrared wavelengths. Costs for these missions are capped at $1 billion, excluding the expense of the rocket, launch services, or external contributions.
The Explorers Program, established in 1958, is NASA's longest-running initiative designed to provide frequent, cost-effective access to space for scientific investigations. Over 90 missions have been launched under the program, including several that earned Nobel prizes.
"It's an honor to be the science lead for PRIMA and to bring the perspective and culture of public research universities to our collaboration with our NASA partners," Pope said.
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