Astrophysics Explorers
The overall Explorer program is managed by the Heliophysics Division. Small PI-led astrophysics missions are selected under the Explorer program, and are managed by the Astrophysics Division. Explorers are opportunities for innovative science and fill the scientific gaps between the larger missions. For example, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) will conduct a census of black holes for the Physics of the Cosmos program and study the birth of elements for the Cosmic Origins program. Similarly, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) will survey the entire sky in the near infrared, and find among these data the brightest, most distant infrared galaxies and the faintest stars in the solar neighborhood.
A-Z | Launch Date | Phase |
---|---|---|
November 02, 2009 | Development | |
December 30, 1995 | Operating | |
June 24, 1999 | Past | |
April 28, 2003 | Operating | |
November 20, 2004 | Operating | |
June 30, 2001 | Operating | |
August 15, 2011 | Development |