Astronomers scramble to save world’s most powerful X-ray space telescope

The most powerful X-ray telescope ever built celebrates its 25th anniversary in space this year. But on Earth, astronomers worry that its future is uncertain.

Supporters of the Chandra X-ray Observatory say the school bus-sized instrument is still in good shape and can continue to do science for another decade. However, NASA recently announced a plan to slash funding and effectively end the mission.

Mark Clampin, the agency’s chief of astrophysics, said officials face a tough budget situation and will have to make difficult choices to free up money to develop future telescopes, such as one that will search for habitable planets that could potentially support life.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory before its launch in 1999 on a NASA space shuttle.

But many astronomers can’t imagine having to pull the plug on Chandra, a unique instrument currently being used with the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to make important discoveries.

“Just recently, Chandra worked with the James Webb Telescope to discover this supermassive black hole at the edge of the Universe. It was the earliest black hole, the most distant black hole ever discovered,” said David Pooley of Trinity University, an astronomer who has been using Chandra since it was launched into orbit on a space shuttle in 1999.

X-rays offer a way to study some of the most exotic phenomena in the universe, because they are generated during extreme cosmic events that heat matter to millions of degrees. They can only be observed from space, rather than by ground-based telescopes, because incoming X-rays are absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere.

Pooley says there is no other telescope like Chandra and its loss would be a major blow.

“Its ability to detect distant objects is unmatched by any other X-ray telescope ever built or built and in operation — for at least another decade, probably two decades,” Pooley said. “To shut down this great observatory for a relatively small cost savings would seriously damage U.S. leadership in this entire field.”

An impression of the Chandra X-ray Observatory in space.

NASA’s planned budget cuts would result in the layoff of a large portion of the telescope’s staff, leaving dozens of astronomers looking for jobs, according to a campaign launched to reverse the decision.

According to astronomer Grant Tremblay, layoffs would be announced in August and employees would leave in October.

“Most have families, children in school, roots planted, and so a large number will be forced to leave astronomy,” he noted in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Pooley says everyone understands budget constraints, but he just doesn’t agree with scrapping a productive workhorse that’s already in space in favor of “something 20 years from now. I don’t think that’s a very good use of taxpayer money.”

Chandra experts like Paul Levitt are expressing their displeasure on social media.

Scientists have also appealed to members of Congress, such as Seth Moulton, a Democratic representative from Massachusetts, where the telescope’s operations center is located.

“I listen to the 700-plus astronomers who signed a letter saying, ‘This work is important. It must continue,'” Moulton told NPR. “I really think it’s up to us in Congress to try to find the money to make sure that happens.”

Meanwhile, a meeting of the agency’s astrophysics advisory committee on Tuesday will discuss Chandra’s future. Part of that discussion will include the results of an evaluation NASA has initiated to see how well the telescope, as well as the aging Hubble, can be operated on a reduced budget.

“NASA will announce its decisions, taking input from the study’s findings, in a virtual town hall meeting in the coming weeks,” a NASA spokesperson told NPR by email.