Two exoplanet mission proposals selected for Exporer program concept study

NASA Selects Science Investigations For Concept Studies

Five missions proposals selected for evaluation, two of which are for exoplanets and three for ionospheric studies. The selected missions are

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-Fast INfrared Exoplanet Spectroscopy Survey Explorer (FINESSE) Mark Swain, PI, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California -- This proposal would use a space telescope to survey more than 200 planets around other stars. This would be the first mission dedicated to finding out what comprises exoplanet atmospheres, what conditions or processes are responsible for their composition, and how our solar system fits into the larger family of planets.

-Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) George Ricker, PI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. -- Using an array of telescopes, TESS would perform an all-sky survey to discover transiting exoplanets, ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, in orbit around the nearest and brightest stars in the sky. The mission's primary goal would be to identify terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars.

Also, another exoplanet mission proposal got some funding:

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-The Exoplanetary Circumstellar Environments and Disk Explorer (EXCEDE), Glenn Schneider, PI, University of Arizona, Tucson -- The technology development effort will enable studies of the formation, evolution, and architectures of exoplanetary systems through direct imaging.

Interesting missions!

TESS is back? Excellent news!