Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s has recommended a Great Observatory Maturation Program (GOMaP) to invest in co-maturation of mission concepts and technologies to inform an Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) study for an approximate 6-meter off-axis inscribed telescope to sample atmospheric spectra of ~25 potentially habitable exoplanets using UV, visible and Nir-IR wavelengths and to be launched in the early 2040s with a total cost of less than $11B including 5 years of operation. The history of past missions indicates that technology development is critical for enabling missions, the robustness, breadth, and duration of concept/technology co-maturation is important for mission success, and NASA has not ‘exactly’ implemented Decadal missions as recommended.
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