NASA selects far-infrared telescope as first in new Probe Explorers mission class

NASA has announced that a mission called PRIMA, short for PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, is advancing to the next phase of development as the first mission in a new class of NASA astrophysics missions known as Probe Explorers.

The Probe Explorers class falls within the agency's longstanding Explorers Program, which has historically supported a range of relatively low-cost, focused astrophysics and heliophysics missions.

PRIMA is designed to explore the history and evolution of the universe using far-infrared observations, a wavelength range that allows scientists to study phenomena such as star formation, galaxy evolution and other cosmic processes not easily visible in other parts of the spectrum.

As the inaugural mission in the Probe Explorers class, PRIMA is expected to serve as a proof of concept for this new category of missions, potentially paving the way for additional Probe-class astrophysics missions in the future.

NASA has not yet released a detailed timeline for PRIMA's launch, though the mission's advancement to the next development phase marks a significant milestone in its progress toward becoming operational.