The Hubble Space Telescope or HST is arguably one of the most important advances in modern astronomy to date. While it is not the first space telescope, scientists agree that the Hubble is the largest and the most versatile tool for space research. Unsurprisingly, the development of the telescope was long and arduous. The first mention of a space telescope dates back to 1923. Hermann Oberth, a physicist and engineer from Germany, proposed the idea of a telescope that could be launched in space.
It was not until the 1970s however when NASA begun searching for funding for the Hubble Space telescope project. After three decades, the telescope was launched in April 25, 1990. The Hubble Space Telescope has since been instrumental in a significant number of academic research on astronomy. According to statistics, over 9000 papers are based in the data retrieved from the Hubble.
With almost thirty years of service under its belt, scientists are definitely grateful for the advances brought upon by the Hubble Space Telescope. However, NASA has since announced its plans to develop a telescope that would have a scope 100 times wider than the Hubble.
In an official statement released last Thursday, NASA unveiled their latest project - the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFIRST. According to the press release, the WFIRST aims to shed light on planets beyond Earth's own solar system. It also would be used to conduct research on dark energy and dark matter.
"The Wide-Field Instrument will give the telescope the ability to capture a single image with the depth and quality of Hubble, but covering 100 times the area. The coronagraph will provide revolutionary science, capturing the faint, but direct images of distant gaseous worlds and super-Earths" explained Paul Hertz, NASA's Astrophysics Division director.
The WFIRST is scheduled to launch by mid-2020.