NASA Gives Five-Year Extension To Hubble Telescope

NASA has confirmed a five-year extension for the popular Hubble telescope, the telescope enables the agency to look deep into the universe. Work has already been underway for a long time on the Hubble’s successor but this extension means that Hubble is still going to be in operation when its successor arrives in space. The Hubble has served mankind faithfully, it has been up in space for nearly three decades.

The Hubble was launched by NASA back in 1990 and it has been operating ever since. Space shuttle crews have made several repairs to the telescope but it has kept on working as it should for the most part. The last in-flight service was performed back in 2009.

A statement by NASA confirms that the Hubble’s operations are being extended by five years. “Hubble is expected to continue to provide valuable data into the 2020s, securing its place in history as an outstanding general-purpose observatory in areas ranging from our solar system to the distant universe,” the agency said.

The James Webb Space Telescope is Hubble’s successor and it’s expected to be launched in 2018. It operates in infrared and is, therefore, different from Hubble which sees the universe in visible and ultraviolet light.

The two wavelengths will enable us to view the different aspects of the cosmos in greater detail than ever before so if our aim of gaining more knowledge about the universe can be helped by extending Hubble’s service by five years, it’s the right thing to do.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: Hubble, NASA