Matthew Bolcar | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

The Habitable Worlds Observatory Technology Development Plan

The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is NASA's next large space telescope, selected by the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics to search for and characterize habitable exoplanets while enabling a broad range of transformative astrophysics. In August 2024, the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office (TMPO) was formed to begin exploring the HWO science, technology, and mission architectures toward a Mission Concept Review (MCR) at the end of the decade. A primary deliverable of this effort is this technology development plan that identifies critical technologies that enable the mission, defines a process for assessing the readiness of those technologies, and outlines a strategy for developing those technologies to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5 before the MCR. This document covers technologies organized along three tracks: Coronagraph System technologies, Ultra-stable Telescope System technologies, and High-sensitivity Ultraviolet and Visible Instrumentation technologies. Additional emerging and enhancing technologies are also discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2018

Technology Needs for Detecting Life Beyond the Solar System: A White Paper in Support of the Astrobiology Science Strategy

In support of the Astrobiology Science Strategy, this whitepaper outlines some key technology challenges pertaining to the remote search for life in exoplanetary systems. Finding evidence for life on rocky planets outside of our solar system requires new technical capabilities for the key measurements of spectral signatures of biosignature gases, and of planetary mass measurement. Spectra of Earth-like planets can be directly measured in reflected stellar light in the visible band or near-infrared using a factor 1e-10 starlight suppression with occulters, either internal (coronagraph) or external (starshade). Absorption and emission (reflected and thermal) spectra can be obtained in the mid-infrared of rocky planets transiting M-dwarfs via spectroscopy of the transit and secondary eclipse, respectively. Mass can be measured from the star's reflex motion, the reflex motion of a star, via either precision radial velocity methods or astrometry. Several technology gaps must be closed to provide astronomers the necessary capabilities to obtain these key measurements for small planets orbiting within the predicted temperate zones around nearby stars. These involved performance improvements, in some cases, 1-2 orders of magnitude from state-of-the-art or involve performances never demonstrated. The technologies advancing to close these gaps have been identified through the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program's annual Technology Selection and Prioritization Process in collaboration with the larger exoplanet science and technology community

astro-ph.IM↗