Paper 13173-503
Paper 13173-503
NASA astrophysics: from today to the Habitable Worlds Observatory (Plenary Presentation)
18 June 2024 • 09:15 - 10:00 Japan Standard Time | National Convention Hall, 1F
Abstract
The goals of the Astrophysics Division are to understand how the universe works, understand how we got here and to address the question, are we alone? In this talk, Dr. Clampin will discuss the current goals of the Astrophysics Division, and its suite of current and future missions. He will also preview progress towards the 2020 National Academies (NAS) Decadal Survey including the key recommendation, the Habitable Worlds Observatory and NASA’s approach to its implementation. Dr. O’Meara will discuss the first steps towards implementation, the formation of a Science, Technology, Architecture Review Team (START) and Technical Analysis Group (TAG) for HWO. He will describe how these teams, along with a large cohort of volunteers are working to define the trade space that must be explored for HWO to meet its top science goals of surveying exoplanets for the signatures of life and performing transformational astrophysics.
Presenter
NASA Goddard Space Flight Ctr. (United States)
Mark Clampin is the Astrophysics Division Director in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He previously served as the Director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate (SED) at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) where he led the Astrophysics, Solar System, Heliophysics, Earth Science Divisions, and the high-performance computing office.
John O'Meara is the Chief Scientist and Deputy Director for the W. M. Keck Observatory, which operates twin 10-meter telescopes on the summit of Maunakea on the island of Hawai'i. Dr. O’Meara is an observational astrophysicist and cosmologist with over 25 years experience with large ground- and space-based facilities.