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As NASA seeks to understand the mysteries of the universe, the agency is advancing technologies to locate and explore Earth-like planets far beyond our solar system. A key element of this research involves observing reflected light from exoplanets, which can reveal indicators of Earth-like features such as water and oxygen. However, detecting this faint reflected light with current telescope technology remains a significant challenge due to the overwhelming brightness of nearby stars and other celestial objects.<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets (HOEE) concept presents a potential solution by combining an orbiting starshade with a large ground-based telescope to suppress starlight and enable direct imaging of exoplanets.<\/p>\n
John Mather<\/p>\n
HOEE principal investigator at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Recent research, published earlier this year and featured on the cover of Monday\u2019s Nature Astronomy<\/em> March issue, suggests the HOEE concept could produce much sharper images allowing us to see entire exoplanetary systems and to clearly separate planet images from each other as well as from interference of dust clouds, the host star, and from the starshade itself. Its extreme sensitivity could enable the detection of small planets, and even large dwarf planets. Most notably, it could enable high-fidelity, wide-band spectroscopy, a scientific technique that can be used to study the interaction between matter and light, improving the path to identifying the chemical signatures of life.<\/p>\n For decades, the starshade was a novel concept. Now, NASA\u2019s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program is turning that idea into a buildable reality. Through a series of targeted studies, NASA researchers are investigating whether it could be practical to build and develop an engineering roadmap.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets (HOEE) is a three-time NIAC award recipient, having received Phase I awards in 2022 and 2025. The HOEE concept is supported by researchers at NASA Goddard, NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n \n