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

NASA has chosen PRIMA, a far-infrared space telescope, as the first of its new mid-cost Probe Explorer missions, with launch targeted for 2033. Its cost is capped at $1.2 billion excluding launch, and it will observe wavelengths from 24 to 235 micrometers using spare parts left over from Webb. The pick signals NASA can still start new astrophysics missions despite budget pressure on its science programs.