NAS astronomy priority list favors multipurpose telescopes
A blue-ribbon National Academy of Sciences committee released its decadal survey of astronomy and astrophysics projects August 13, revealing its recommendations for 2012 to 2021. The influential report, produced by a 23-member committee and backed by nine expert panels together constituting 123 researchers, provides lawmakers and agencies such as NASA and the National Science Foundation with a guideline for which projects most deserve funding.
Included in the list is the funding of an 8.4 meter telescope (located in Chile), a space based infrared telescope that would produce a newer and better survey of the entire sky, have the US buy 25% into a giant segmented mirror telescope, and so forth.
Go to the Scientific American link for details, including a link to a PDF of the actual report.
One thing to note - the Hubble Space Telescope will cease operations in a little while (and there will be no more shuttle launches thus no way to make it last longer.) The James Webb Space Telescope will become the new primary space telescope after it is launched (circa 2014). However, the JWST is over budget and other astrophysics NASA projects are being cut to fund it.
The bottom line is that the US funding for astrophysics is not unlimited, so I am glad to see the NAS put as a priority the US becoming a partner in other nations’ astrophysics efforts.