14 DAY TRIAL // The US National Research Council identified the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) telescope as a priority for the next decade, but NASA has not yet received funding to get the project going. A donation from the National Reconnaissance Office might just get things rolling.
Back in 2011, the space agency took possession of two telescopes formerly used for surveillance by the American spy organization. Both are extremely capable, comparable to NASA's own Hubble, and sometimes exceeding the latter's capabilities.
Now, NASA is considering using one of the two telescopes on the proposed, $1.6 billion WFIRST spacecraft. The mission is being developed to conduct a census of extrasolar planets, and also to hunt for dark matter, the elusive stuff believed to make up 23 percent of the Universe's mass-energy budget.
The $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope is currently tying up most of the space agency's budget for astronomy and astrophysics, so the newly acquired instruments may provide a breath of fresh air into the WFIRST program, Spaceflight Now reports.