With PRIMA, NASA will try to build a billion-dollar space telescope in record time

NASA’s PRIMA mission, the first Probe Explorer, is scheduled for launch in the early 2030s. It will conduct scientific investigations at a cost below a few hundred million dollars, lower than multibillion-dollar flagship telescopes such as the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope. The Probe Explorer category was approved by a scientific panel, and NASA has studied concepts for several years. Recent budget constraints from the Trump administration have created uncertainty about program funding.