Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor

In 2016, NASA began considering four different space telescope concepts for future Large Strategic Science Missions.{{cite news == Mission ==

, HabEx and Origins) LUVOIR's main goals are to investigate exoplanets, cosmic origins, and the Solar System. Atmospheric biosignatures of interest include , CO, molecular oxygen (), ozone (), water (), and methane (). LUVOIR's multi-wavelength capability would also provide key information to help understand how a host star's UV radiation regulates the atmospheric photochemistry on habitable planets. LUVOIR will also observe large numbers of exoplanets spanning a wide range of characteristics (mass, host star type, age, etc.), with the goal of placing the Solar System in a broader context of planetary systems. Over its five-year primary mission, LUVOIR-A is expected to identify and study 54 potentially habitable exoplanets, while LUVOIR-B is expected to identify 28. The scope of astrophysics investigations include explorations of cosmic structure in the far reaches of space and time, formation and evolution of galaxies, and the birth of stars and planetary systems. In the area of Solar System studies, LUVOIR can provide up to about 25 km imaging resolution in visible light at Jupiter, permitting detailed monitoring of atmospheric dynamics in Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune over long timescales. Sensitive, high resolution imaging and spectroscopy of Solar System comets, asteroids, moons, and Kuiper Belt objects that will not be visited by spacecraft in the foreseeable future can provide vital information on the processes that formed the Solar System ages ago. Furthermore, LUVOIR has an important role to play by studying plumes from the ocean moons of the outer Solar System, in particular Europa and Enceladus, over long timescales. == Design ==

, James Webb Space Telescope, LUVOIR-B and LUVOIR-A. LUVOIR would be equipped with an internal coronagraph instrument, called ECLIPS for Extreme Coronagraph for LIving Planetary Systems, to enable direct observations of Earth-like exoplanets. An external starshade is also an option for the smaller LUVOIR design (LUVOIR-B). Other candidate science instruments studied are: High-Definition Imager (HDI), a wide-field near-UV, optical, and near-infrared camera; LUMOS, a LUVOIR Ultraviolet Multi-Object Spectrograph; and POLLUX, an ultraviolet spectropolarimeter. POLLUX (high-resolution UV spectropolarimeter) is being studied by a European consortium, with leadership and support from the CNES, France. The observatory can observe wavelengths of light from the far-ultraviolet to the near-infrared. To enable the extreme wavefront stability needed for coronagraphic observations of Earth-like exoplanets, the LUVOIR design incorporates three principles. First, vibrations and mechanical disturbances throughout the observatory are minimized. Second, the telescope and coronagraph both incorporate several layers of wavefront control through active optics. Third, the telescope is actively heated to a precise to control thermal disturbances. The LUVOIR technology development plan is supported with funding from NASA's Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies program, the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and related programs at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and Ball Aerospace. LUVOIR-A LUVOIR-A, previously known as the High Definition Space Telescope (HDST), was proposed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) on 6 July 2015. Ideas for the original HDST proposal included an internal coronagraph, a disk that blocks light from the central star, making a dim planet more visible, and a starshade that would float kilometers out in front of it to perform the same function. LUVOIR-A folds so it only needs an 8-metre wide payload fairing. is an 8-meter architecture initially developed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). While smaller than LUVOIR-A, it is being designed to produce an angular resolution that is 5–10 times better than the JWST, and a sensitivity limit that is up to 2,000 times better than HST. LUVOIR-B was designed to launch on a heavy-lift rocket with an industry-standard launch fairing. Lifetime cost estimates range from $12 billion to $18 billion. == See also ==