NASA picked a far-infrared telescope, with a 2033 launch target
PRIMA is the first mission in NASA’s Probe Explorers class. The project cost is capped at $1.2 billion, not counting launch, and the target launch year is 2033.
Hristo Stefanov · Wildwood, New Jersey · 2026-09-23 · 1 min · Space
What NASA selected
On September 23, NASA said it selected PRIMA, the PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, as the first mission in a new class called Probe Explorers, inside the Explorers program. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory will manage it, with Goddard and Marshall also on the project, plus space agencies in France, Italy, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
PRIMA is a space telescope for far-infrared light, the band between existing infrared observatories and radio telescopes. NASA says it will survey how planets, stars, galaxies, and black holes formed, how dust and heavy elements built up, and how water reached Earth. The project cost is capped at $1.2 billion. That cap does not include the launch and other costs NASA listed separately. The target launch is 2033.
A selection is the start
A 2033 target is seven years of design, instruments, and budgets. The number that matters today is the cap, not a picture of the telescope. This desk is for NASA and astronomy. The Starship stack is on the SpaceX page.