Save Hubble: the race to preserve the space telescope kicks off

Rogier Windhorst an astrophysicist at Arizona State University wrote in Nature that a NASA working group has begun considering options for the Hubble Space Telescope as the race to preserve the space telescope kicks off. The orbiting observatory's unique vision and public support continue to be crucial for understanding the Universe the article published on 07 July 2026 said. A NASA working group is considering whether to extend the observatory's mission into the 2030s by boosting it into a higher more stable orbit or to send a robotic mission to decommission it plunging the telescope into the ocean. Calls for white papers and pitches to define Hubble's science priorities for the next decade will conclude in July. Later this year the working group will share its advice with NASA and the US Congress. Windhorst submitted a white paper arguing that Hubble should remain operational for as long as technically feasible. The Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990 has unique ability to complement all of NASA's current and planned scientific missions until 2040. Proposals outnumber availability by a factor of six-to-one. Hubble's blue UV view of the Universe complements that of the James Webb Space Telescope. A successor to Hubble the Habitable Worlds Observatory won't be launched before 2040.