Finding signs of life on planets outside our solar system will require a more powerful space telescope than any ever built. NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory will draw on technologies proven by the agency’s Hubble, Webb and upcoming Roman Space Telescopes to peer into the cosmos and find the unique signatures of planets that can support life as well as possibly life itself.
00:01The stars above, what secrets do they keep? One of our biggest questions has
00:08always been, are we alone? We've now discovered thousands of planets beyond
00:14our solar system, but how many of those distant worlds have the conditions for
00:18life as we know it? How many have water vapor, a beacon indicating that oceans
00:25might be present? How many of gases like oxygen and methane, possible signs of
00:32life itself, and of those, which might truly have life? After decades of asking,
00:40a future NASA telescope could bring us the answers.
00:46The habitable world's observator is a future mission designed in the
00:52tradition of the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes. It will use its unique and
00:58sensitive eyes to see planets like our own, hiding in the light of their distant
01:03stars. Astronomers could then point this mighty space observatory to the most
01:13promising planets, those that may hold liquid water.
01:19With the help of its coronagraph instrument, which blocks out the dazzling starlight, the
01:25telescope will look for undiscovered Earth-sized planets in the star's habitable zone where
01:32liquid water could exist. The light from each planet will be split into a vibrant spectrum
01:40of colors, revealing clues to the chemical signatures we seek. From there, we can attempt
01:45to discover if a planet's atmosphere contains water. And from there, other signals like
01:52oxygen or methane. Should all these signs align, the habitable world's observatory would delve deeper
02:01to reveal other hidden clues of life.
02:08With further study, we could find signs of sprawling oceans and rugged continents. And if signs of life are revealed,
02:18keep a watchful eye for changes over time.
02:25This magnificent observatory could discover dozens of worlds akin to our own in its first five years.
02:35The telescope will gather data on a wide variety of worlds, placing our own solar system in the context within the grand tapestry of existence.
02:44And the habitable world's observatory will, like the other great cosmic watchers, Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer, Webb, and soon Roman,
02:54also conduct a wide range of revolutionary observations of our cosmos, improving our understanding of how our universe led to potentially habitable worlds.
03:08Thus, the habitable world's observatory will help us embark on a quest as grand as any.
03:18To tell the story of life in the cosmos, and whether or not we are alone.
03:38of our ancestors and allies.
03:46Goodbye.
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