Related papers: Paths to Robust Exoplanet Science Yield Margin for…
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) aims to image and characterize at least 25 ExoEarth candidates (EECs). Achieving this goal requires a detailed understanding of the observatory's design trade space, including the operational…
NASA's next flagship observatory, the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), aims to detect and charaterize ~25 habitable zone planets. The total number of habitable zone planets detected is referred to as the exo-Earth "yield'' and accurate…
The Astro 2020 Decadal Survey "Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s" has recommended that "after a successful mission and technology maturation program, NASA should embark on a program to realize a mission to…
ExoEarth yield is a critical science metric for future exoplanet imaging missions. Here we estimate exoEarth candidate yield using single visit completeness for a variety of mission design and astrophysical parameters. We review the methods…
The yield of Earth-like planets will likely be a primary science metric for future space-based missions that will drive telescope aperture size. Maximizing the exoEarth candidate yield is therefore critical to minimizing the required…
The Habitable Worlds Observatory will attempt to image Earth-sized planets in Habitable Zone orbits around nearby Sun-like stars. In this work we explore approximate analytic yield calculations for a future flagship direct imaging mission…
Exoplanet atmosphere characterization has seen revolutionary advances over the last few years, providing us with unique insights into atmospheric chemistry, dynamics and planet formation mechanisms. However, true solar system analog planets…
Constraints on the masses of exoplanets directly imaged and characterized by the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) are crucial for categorizing these planets and interpreting their spectra. In particular, achieving a mass measurement with…
We examine the scientific viability of an imaging mission to find exo-Earths combining the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) with a starshade external occulter under a realistic set of astrophysical assumptions. We define an exo-Earth as a…
One of the key goals of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is to directly image about 25 potentially habitable exoplanets and determine their properties. This challenge will require a large survey of nearby, bright stars -- ~100…
A primary scientific goal of the future Habitable Worlds Observatory will be the direct detection and characterization of Earth-like planets. Estimates of the exoplanet yields for this concept will help guide mission design through detailed…
Executive Summary: The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is the first astrophysics flagship mission with a key cross-divisional astrobiology science goal of searching for signs of life on rocky planets beyond our solar system. The Living…
Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will search for biosignatures from Earth-size exoplanets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. The wavelength range for biosignatures used by the HabEx and LUVOIR mission concept studies was 200 nm to 2…
The design and scale of a future mission to directly image and characterize potentially Earth-like planets will be impacted, to some degree, by the expected yield of such planets. Recent efforts to increase the estimated yields, by creating…
A primary goal of NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission concept is to explore the Habitable Zones (HZ) of ~100 stellar systems and acquire spectra of ~25 terrestrial-type planets (with planet/star flux ratios on the order of…
The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 highlights the importance of advancing research focused on discovering and characterizing habitable worlds. In line with this priority, our goal is to investigate how planetary systems…
The James Webb Space Telescope was not even launched yet when the Astro2020 Decadal Survey American report recommended the development of what is now called the Habitable World Observatory, also mentioned by the Voyage 2050 European report.…
The highest priority recommendation of the Astro2020 Decadal Survey for space-based astronomy was the construction of an observatory capable of characterizing habitable worlds. In this paper series we explore the detectability of and…
Estimating the exoplanet scientific productivity of the Habitable Worlds Observatory requires estimating science exposure times. From exoplanet yields to spectral retrievals, exposure times are at the heart of our understanding of the…
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), planned for launch in the 2040s, represents the next major step in exoplanet characterisation. HWO will, for the first time, enable detailed studies of the atmospheres and surfaces of Earth-like…