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Renewed hope for Hubble - a committee of the Academy of Sciences supports a manned maintenance flight

Experts say that NASA should do everything in its power to send a rescue mission to the space telescope

Helen Pearson, Nature

Hubble Space Telescope

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A team of experts advised NASA on Tuesday not to rule out the possibility of sending astronauts to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

The team was established at NASA's request by the National Academy of the United States in order to advise the agency on how to extend the life of the aging telescope. Astronomers see Hubble as an essential facility for tracking distant black holes and young galaxies, as well as for gathering clues about the birth of the universe.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said in January that sending astronauts to repair the telescope was too dangerous a task in light of last year's Columbia disaster. After a vigorous protest from scientists and politicians, the agency said it might send a robotic mission to repair the Hubble.

The new report, which will be published in its final version later this summer or fall, claims that there are still some open questions regarding a robotic mission. The report recommends that NASA continue to examine both options, a robotic mission and a human mission. "Keeping both options open is the prudent thing to do," said Luis Lanzerotti, the team's chairman and a consultant to Bell Labs in New Jersey, at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

The report says that a decision cannot be made one way or the other for at least a year, but urges NASA to commit to sending a mission to Hubble to extend its life. "I believe Oh, Keefe will take our report seriously," Lanzerotti said.

The team of experts issued the interim report, as there is an urgent need to send a repair mission to Hubble to replace its depleted batteries and stabilize the gyroscopes on board. Lanzerotti said that the capabilities and options facing robotic and manned missions to repair or replace instruments on Hubble will be addressed in the final report.

Translation: Dikla Oren

The article in Nature
Astronomer

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