An artist's concept of a prehistoric black hole. Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech

The National Research Council released its Astro2010 report Friday, which identifies the top research and mission priorities for space- and ground-based astronomy and astrophysics for 2010-2020. 

The Astro2010 committee identified three science objectives: finding out how the first stars, galaxies, and black holes formed; locating the closest habitable Earth-like planets beyond our solar system; and using “astronomical measurements to unravel the mysteries of gravity and probe fundamental physics.”

For the first time, the survey developed independent estimates of the costs, risks and technical readiness of  the proposed projects. The report—the NRC's sixth in this field--recommended projects that are divided into large, midsize and small categories. 

The top priority for large-scale space missions-- those exceeding $1 billion-- is the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). The observatory would help settle fundamental questions about the nature of dark energy, determine the likelihood of habitable planets, and survey our galaxy and others.

The top priority for large-scale, ground-based projects—those exceeding $135 million―is the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The wide-field optical survey telescope would observe more than half the sky every four nights and further research in areas such as supernovae, dark energy and time-variable phenomena.

Besides WFIRST, recommended large space-based missions include the Explorer program, which supports small and medium-size missions; the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), a mission designed to detect long gravitational waves or “ripples in space-time” and thereby open a new window on the universe; and the International X-Ray Observatory (IXO), a telescope that would discover and map supermassive black holes at very early times when the universe was still assembling galaxies. 

"Powerful new ways to observe the universe and bold ideas to understand it have created scientific opportunities without precedent,” said Roger Blandford, chairman of the committee that wrote the report and Luke Blossom Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford, in a statement. “The program of research that we recommend will optimize with science return for future ground-based projects and space missions in a time of constrained budgets and limited resources.”

Other recommended activities include The New Worlds Technology Development Program, which is the first priority for midsize space-based missions. The program would lay the technical and scientific foundation for a future space imaging and spectroscopy mission to nearby Earth-like planets.

Research priorities were selected through extensive review that included input from nine expert panels, six study groups and others in the astronomy and astrophysics community. 

The survey included a plan with budgetary scenarios, based on current projected budgets from NASA, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. The agencies provided the study's major funding. 

More about the Astro2010 survey "New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics" here.

Reach reporter Len Ly here.