Related papers: The Science Case for an Extended Spitzer Mission

The vast majority of stars that populate the Universe will end their evolution as white-dwarf stars. Applications of white dwarfs include cosmochronology, evolution of planetary systems, and also as laboratories to study non-standard…

Advancements in our understanding of exoplanetary atmospheres, from massive gas giants down to rocky worlds, depend on the constructive challenges between observations and models. We are now on a clear trajectory for improvements in…

I will highlight and discuss some of the studies of the stellar population in the Galaxy that will become possible with or will greatly advantage of the capability of a Wide Field of view X-ray Telescope (WFXT) mission. This mission…

We propose to use Kepler in 2-wheel mode to conduct a detailed search for Earth-sized planets orbiting ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs (spectral types from M7 to L3). This population of objects presents several advantages for exoplanet…

Characterization of exoplanets has matured in recent years, particularly through studies of exoplanetary atmospheres of transiting planets at infra-red wavelenegths. The primary source for such observations has been the Spitzer Space…

The legacy of NASA's K2 mission has provided hundreds of transiting exoplanets that can be revisited by new and future facilities for further characterization, with a particular focus on studying the atmospheres of these systems. However,…

In 2016, the NASA Juno spacecraft will initiate its one-year mission around Jupiter and become the first probe to explore the polar regions of Jupiter. The HST UV instruments (STIS and ACS) can greatly contribute to the success of the Juno…

As the NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) fulfills its primary mission, it is executing an unprecedented survey of almost the entire sky: TESS's approved extended mission will likely extend sky coverage to ~94%, including…

In a cold and stable space environment, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or "Webb") reaches unprecedented sensitivities at wavelengths beyond 2 microns, serving most fields of astrophysics. It also extends the parameter space of…

The Mars Life Explorer (MLE) mission concept offers a critical opportunity to investigate whether extant life exists within the mid-latitude ice deposits of Mars. However, MLE's current science traceability matrix emphasizes habitability…

We present the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS), an 18 square degrees medium-deep survey at 3.6 and 4.5 microns with the post-cryogenic Spitzer Space Telescope to ~2 microJy (AB=23.1) depth of five highly observed…

The Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA's Great Observatory for infrared astronomy, has made available new tools for the investigation of the infrared properties of planetary nebulae. The three instruments onboard, including the Infrared Array…

Xtend is one of the two telescopes onboard the X-ray imaging and spectroscopy mission (XRISM), which was launched on September 7th, 2023. Xtend comprises the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), an X-ray CCD camera, and the X-ray Mirror Assembly (XMA),…

The NASA TESS mission will deliver hundreds of transiting exoplanet candidates orbiting bright stars. The spectrometers SOPHIE at OHP and SPIRou at CFHT will be ideal to obtain radial velocities of these candidates, confirm their nature,…

The NASA LISA Study Team was tasked to study how NASA might support US scientists to participate and maximize the science return from the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. LISA is gravitational wave observatory led by ESA…

The blossoming field of joint gravitational wave and electromagnetic (GW-EM) astronomy is one of the most promising in astronomy. The first, and only, joint GW-EM event GW170817 provided remarkable science returns that still continue to…

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide unprecedented opportunities to observe the rings and small satellites in our solar system, accomplishing three primary objectives: 1) discovering new rings and moons, 2) unprecedented…

The NASA program in X-ray astronomy has two long term goals: 1) to achieve sufficient angular resolution to image the event horizon of a black hole (0.1 micro arc sec) and 2) to achieve sufficient collecting area (50-150 sq m) and angular…

The transit method of exoplanet discovery and characterization has enabled numerous breakthroughs in exoplanetary science. These include measurements of planetary radii, mass-radius relationships, stellar obliquities, bulk density…

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) presents the opportunity to transform our understanding of planets and the origins of life by revealing the atmospheric compositions, structures, and dynamics of transiting exoplanets in unprecedented…