Astronomers try to save NASA’s Chandra X-ray space telescope from cuts : NPR

The most powerful X-ray telescope ever built is celebrating its 25th anniversary in space, but astronomers on Earth are concerned that its future is highly uncertain.

Supporters of the Chandra X-ray Observatory maintain that the school-bus-sized instrument is healthy and capable of continuing its scientific work for the next decade, but NASA recently plan Cut funding, effectively ending the mission.

The agency’s head of astrophysics, Mark Crumphave Said Officials face a tight budget and will have to make difficult choices to fund future telescope development. One Search for habitable planets that could potentially support life.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory before its launch into orbit aboard NASA’s space shuttle in 1999.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

But many astronomers find it hard to imagine shutting down Chandra, a unique instrument that is currently working in conjunction with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to make important discoveries.

“Just recently, Chandra, in collaboration with the James Webb Telescope, discovered this supermassive black hole at the edge of the universe. The oldest black holeIt is the most distant black hole ever discovered.” David Pooley He’s an astronomer at Trinity College who has been using Chandra since it was launched into orbit on the Space Shuttle in 1999.

X-rays are produced during extreme cosmic events that heat material to millions of degrees, providing a way to study some of the most unusual phenomena in the universe. X-rays are absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere, so they can only be observed from space, not with ground-based telescopes.

Pulley said there is no other telescope like Chandra and losing it would be a huge blow.

“This telescope’s ability to detect distant objects is unmatched by any X-ray telescope ever built or expected to be built and operated for at least the next decade, and perhaps 20,” Pooley said. “Shutting down this incredible observatory to save relatively little money would seriously damage U.S. leadership in this entire field.”

An artist’s impression of the Chandra X-ray Observatory in space.

NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan

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NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan

Planned budget cuts at NASA will force the immediate layoffs of many of the staff who run the telescope, leaving dozens of astronomers looking for work, pressure groups say. motion There is a growing movement to overturn that decision.

According to astronomers Grant TremblayThe cuts were announced in August and it was expected that the staff would be gone by October.

“Most people have families, their kids go to school, they put down roots, so a lot of people will be forced to move away from astronomy,” he says. I got it. In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Pooley said he understands budget constraints, but he’s opposed to cutting a productive workhorse already in space for “something 20 years down the line.” “I don’t think it’s a very good use of taxpayer money.”

Chandra experts like Paul Levitt took to social media to air their frustrations.

The scientists are also appealing to lawmakers: Seth MoultonHe is a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, where the telescope’s operations center is located.

“We’ve heard from over 700 astronomers who have signed a letter saying, ‘This research is important. It needs to continue,'” Moulton told NPR. “I really think it’s up to us as members of Congress to make sure that funding is there to make sure that it can continue.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Meeting, conference Members of NASA’s Astrophysics Advisory Committee will discuss Chandra’s future, including in part the results of a study the agency has launched to explore how well it and the aging Hubble can operate on a reduced budget.

“NASA will be informed by the review’s findings and share a decision during a virtual town hall meeting in the coming weeks,” a NASA spokesperson told NPR in an email.