Ad Astra White Paper: A Pitch for the Next 25 Years of NASA's Physics of the Cosmos Program

Abstract

Astrophysical observations of our universe have been key to our understanding of how the universe works. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, the National Research Council delivered \textit{Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos: Eleven Science Questions for the New Century}. In the subsequent quarter-century, we have made substantial progress in answering each question. These advancements have, in part, arisen because of the success of major US facilities across several domains of physics, guided by long-term planning documents which still largely focus on these questions. This report seeks to provide a status update on each question, and to outline what space-based facilities are crucial for future progress, intended to guide NASA's preparatory work for the Astro2030 Decadal.

NASA ASTRA White Paper : A Chandra Successor in the 2030s
C. S. Reynolds, E. Hodges-Kluck, E. A. Kara +19
arXiv1 Oct 2026PreprintCC BY-NC-SA 4.0Full textHigh-energy astrophysics Instrumentation & methodsarXiv
ASTRA: An Autonomous Framework for Physics-Validated Analysis and Hypothesis Generation in Astrophysics
Glenn J. White
arXiv26 Oct 2026PreprintCC BY 4.0Full textInstrumentation & methodsarXiv
3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper IV. Key Scientific Mission: Solar-System Small Bodies and Planetary Defense
Juhan Kim, Yong-Woo Kang, Sang Hyun Lee +22
arXiv17 Sep 2026PreprintarXiv licenceFull textInstrumentation & methodsarXiv
3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper V. Key Scientific Mission: Compact-Object Time-Domain Science
Juhan Kim, Yong-Woo Kang, Sang Hyun Lee +22
arXiv17 Sep 2026PreprintarXiv licenceFull textInstrumentation & methodsarXiv
3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper III. Key Scientific Mission: Exoplanet Science with a Coronagraph
Juhan Kim, Sang Hyun Lee, Yong-Woo Kang +22
arXiv17 Sep 2026PreprintarXiv licenceFull textInstrumentation & methods Planetary science & exoplanetsarXiv

Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{burns2026astra,
  title = {{Ad Astra White Paper: A Pitch for the Next 25 Years of NASA's Physics of the Cosmos Program}},
  author = {Eric Burns and Ivan Agullo and Igor Andreoni and Catherine M. Deibel and Christopher L. Fryer and Natasha Latouf and M. Coleman Miller and Jillian C. Rastinejad and Breann N. Sitarski and Zorawar Wadiasingh},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.31160},
  eprint = {2608.31160},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.31160},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Ad Astra White Paper: A Pitch for the Next 25 Years of NASA's Physics of the Cosmos Program
AU  - Eric Burns
AU  - Ivan Agullo
AU  - Igor Andreoni
AU  - Catherine M. Deibel
AU  - Christopher L. Fryer
AU  - Natasha Latouf
AU  - M. Coleman Miller
AU  - Jillian C. Rastinejad
AU  - Breann N. Sitarski
AU  - Zorawar Wadiasingh
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/31
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.31160
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.31160
AB  - Astrophysical observations of our universe have been key to our understanding of how the universe works. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, the National Research Council delivered \textit{Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos: Eleven Science Questions for the New Century}. In the subsequent quarter-century, we have made substantial progress in answering each question. These advancements have, in part, arisen because of the success of major US facilities across several domains of physics, guided by long-term planning documents which still largely focus on these questions. This report seeks to provide a status update on each question, and to outline what space-based facilities are crucial for future progress, intended to guide NASA's preparatory work for the Astro2030 Decadal.
ER  -

Abstract

Related

Cite