NASA Selects PRIMA as First Probe Explorer Mission

NASA announced it will proceed with PRIMA (Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics) as the inaugural Probe Explorer mission, a billion-dollar space telescope targeted for launch in the early 2030s. The mission fills a new category NASA created to balance low-cost Explorer missions with multibillion-dollar flagships like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. PRIMA was the sole finalist after NASA disqualified the competing AXIS X-ray observatory, which a concept study indicated would not meet the agency's schedule and budget constraints. The mission will be led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.