NASA Advances PRIMA: A Mid-Sized Far-Infrared Telescope and the First Probe Explorer Mission

# What PRIMA is and why NASA picked it

# Development status and budget PRIMA has advanced to Phase B, which focuses on preliminary design and technology development. The mission must pass a confirmation review before moving to Phase C, at which point its development cost will be capped at $1.2 billion. That cap excludes launch and other non-project costs. The current planning targets a launch in 2033, contingent on the remaining development reviews and schedule.

# Science aims: what PRIMA will observe PRIMA's far-infrared capability targets science questions that are best answered at wavelengths where cold dust and cool gas emit most strongly. Specific science objectives called out in the announcement include:

• Planet formation beyond the Solar System: tracking dust and cold disks where planets assemble.
• Galaxy and supermassive black hole growth: probing dust-enshrouded phases of star formation and active nuclei across cosmic time.
• Cosmic dust and heavy-element accumulation: measuring how dust and metals built up as the Universe evolved.

Because the far-infrared reveals dusty, obscured regions that other telescopes miss, PRIMA will provide surveys and follow-up data that complement JWST, Roman (where relevant), and radio facilities.

# Program context and technical heritage

# Management and international contributions NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will manage PRIMA in partnership with Goddard Space Flight Center and Marshall Space Flight Center. International partners listed include the UK Space Agency, CNES (France), ASI (Italy), DLR (Germany), the Canadian Space Agency, KASI and KASA (Korea), and JAXA (Japan). The mission's multinational contributions are expected to cover instruments, subsystems, and operations support, although specific contributions were not detailed in the announcement.

# Official framing Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA's Astrophysics Division, framed PRIMA as extending survey capabilities into the far-infrared to give a more comprehensive view of the cosmos. Nicky Fox, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, described PRIMA as "humanity's next window into the deep universe," saying it will help reveal obscured phases of planet, star, and black hole formation and trace how water and other materials arrived on Earth.

# What comes next Phase B will refine PRIMA's preliminary design and advance necessary technologies. After the confirmation review and a successful Phase C entry, the project will continue toward construction and integration under the $1.2 billion cap. The official target launch year remains 2033, assuming reviews and funding proceed on schedule.

PRIMA aims to provide far-infrared survey power that complements existing and planned observatories, targeting science questions that rely on seeing cold, dust-shrouded processes across cosmic time.