NASA's new PRIMA 'Probe Explorer' mission is truly the 1st of its kind. Here's what it will do

NASA is moving forward with a new mission that's the first in its class.

Last week, NASA announced that it has selected the PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics) mission to move forward into Phase B of development. This advances the design and technology development for the project, though the mission still needs to pass a confirmation review following this phase. If confirmed, PRIMA will usher in new astrophysics for the agency, conducting surveys of the universe in far-infrared wavelengths as its first mission in the "Probe Explorers" class.

"The PRIMA mission is humanity’s next window into the deep universe. It will unveil the obscure across cosmic time to better understand the formation of planets, stars, black holes and even how water on Earth came to be," Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement.

NASA missions are classified by size, scope and cost. Ever since the launch of Explorer 1 — the first U.S. satellite to reach orbit — in 1958, the agency has lofted a wide range of missions as part of its Explorers Program. PRIMA is the first mission within this program, a move stemming from a recommendation in the 2020 Decadal Survey for Astronomy and Astrophysics, a 10-year plan that the United States National Academies releases to outline science goals for the upcoming decade.

So what will the first mission in NASA's Probe Explorers class do? Well, the agency hopes that PRIMA can fill the gap in infrared spacecraft observations. NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope studies the cosmos in near and mid-infrared light. PRIMA, which is being designed with a 5.9-foot (1.8 meters) telescope, will be optimized to see in the far-infrared.

Researchers hope that by extending our view of the universe to include far-infrared wavelengths, they can explore the origins and evolution of everything from exoplanets, or planets outside of our solar system, to galaxies and black holes. They aim to use PRIMA as a lens that peers through history, allowing us to better understand how the dust, gas and debris strewn across the universe has, over time, evolved into the cosmos we see today.

"A single mission alone can’t probe all the universe’s mysteries. But by extending the survey capabilities of our fleet into far-infrared wavelengths with PRIMA, we’re enabling an incredibly comprehensive look at the cosmos," Shawn Domagal-Goldman, the director of NASA's Astrophysics Division, said in the same statement. "With our Webb and Roman space telescopes, we set a cadence of launching premiere-class missions in both halves of the decade. We’re going to keep that up and kick off the next decade with PRIMA, as part of a pipeline that will consistently have missions of this caliber ready to go."

PRIMA, which will be managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, is a $1.2 billion mission. If it continues to move through development and confirmation according to plan, PRIMA will launch in 2033 and study the cosmos for at least five years.