NASA selects PRIMA far-infrared telescope as first Probe Explorer, targets 2033 launch

NASA has selected a far-infrared space observatory called PRIMA, short for the PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, to move into the next phase of development. The agency announced on September 23, 2026, that PRIMA will be the first mission in a new class of astrophysics missions called Probe Explorers.

The mission

According to NASA's release, PRIMA has been selected to advance to Phase B of development. The observatory is targeted to launch in 2033 for a planned five-year mission. If the mission is confirmed, its project cost is capped at $1.2 billion, not including launch and other non-project costs.

PRIMA will carry a telescope about 5.9 feet across and observe the universe in far-infrared light. Spaceflight Now reported that the telescope, 1.8 meters across, will be cryogenically cooled and will feed two main instruments: an imaging polarimeter called PRIMAger and a high-resolution spectrometer called FIRESS.

The mission will undergo a confirmation review of its technical progress, costs and schedule before it can move into the following stage of development, according to NASA.

What it will study

NASA says PRIMA will carry out deep surveys to study the origins of planets outside the solar system, the growth of galaxies and their black holes, and the buildup of dust and heavy elements over cosmic history. The agency describes the mission as filling a gap between the wavelengths observed by the James Webb Space Telescope and those observed by radio telescopes.

"The PRIMA mission is humanity's next window into the deep universe," Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in the release. Spaceflight Now quoted Fox as saying that "PRIMA will unveil the obscure across cosmic time to better understand the formation of planets, stars, black holes."

Who is building it

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will lead the mission, with support from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. NASA's release lists international partners from France, Italy, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Spaceflight Now reported that Caltech's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, known as IPAC, will serve as the science center, and that the mission builds on three decades of detector development by researchers at Caltech and JPL.

Why it matters

PRIMA opens a new tier of NASA astrophysics missions. Probe Explorers sit within NASA's Explorers Program, and PRIMA is the first mission chosen for that class. If it stays on schedule and within its cost cap, it would give astronomers a dedicated far-infrared space observatory aimed at questions about how planets, galaxies and black holes formed and grew.

Sources

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