Physics of the Cosmos News

2 December 2022

Join the New Great Observatories Science Analysis Group

NASA's Physics of the Cosmos, Cosmic Origins, and Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Groups (the PhysPAG, COPAG, and ExoPAG, respectively) have jointly formed a new cross-PAG Science Analysis Group (SAG) on science enabled by a fleet of future Great Observatories.

In the wake of the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy & Astrophysics (Astro2020), this new SAG has now been recommended by the Astrophysics Advisory Committee and approved by the NASA Astrophysics Division Director. The PhysPAG, COPAG, and ExoPAG Executive Committee (EC) Chairs are therefore now ready to solicit SAG membership, including working group and SAG-wide co-chairs, from the broad astronomy and aerospace engineering communities. The New Great Observatories SAG is charged with analyzing and answering the following questions:

• To what degree can the Key Science Questions from Astro2020 be advanced by contemporaneous flight of current, imminent, and future IR/O/UV, X-ray, and FIR Great Observatories? In particular, what discoveries in the Astro2020 Priority Areas might be uniquely made possible by coordinated use of X-ray through FIR space observatories using powerful and varied instruments? What gaps require contemporaneous flight of several or even all of these observatories, and to what degree is asynchronous panchromatic coverage sufficient? How might gaps be closed by the notional future multi-scale multiwavelength mission portfolio, including future explorers and probes?


• In the scenario that any or all of these missions not be launched, or should their missions see minimal overlap, what are the corresponding scientific impacts with regards to loss of discovery space or inability of the community to address the priority areas of Astro2020?

You can read the full terms of reference of the New Great Observatories SAG on the SAG’s webpage:

In alignment with NASA’s core value of inclusion, the SAG will be committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all participants, and will invite candidates from all backgrounds to contribute fully, including in SAG-wide leadership roles. Applications to the SAG are easy and quick, and we encourage applications from community members at all career stages.

If interested, please fill out the form at this website by 15 January 2023. Questions may be addressed to the PhysPAG, COPAG, and ExoPAG EC Chairs (Grant Tremblay: grant.tremblay@cfa.harvard.edu; Janice Lee: janice.lee@noirlab.edu; Ilaria Pascucci: pascucci@arizona.edu, respectively).