Arizona researcher wins $20M NASA mission grant for compact telescope
04 Feb 2021
From Ford Burkhart in Tucson
Asperaâs mission will feature a space telescope âthe size of a mini fridgeâ.A 30-year-old University of Arizona postdoc researcher has won a $20 million NASA space mission grant by designing a compact, original version of the huge space telescopes, like the Hubble, that began sailing into space in the 1990s.
The Hubble Space Telescope was 14m (45 feet) long. By contrast, Carlos Vargas, of the UAâs Steward Observatory, has proposed a slimmed down device, called the Aspera â with dimensions of only 200 x 350 x 400mm (8 x 14 x 16 in).