NASA is set to present a comprehensive series of mission updates and technical schedules at the 247th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), scheduled for January 4–8, 2026, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona.
The event will feature critical briefings on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launch preparation, continued science operations for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the technology maturation of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO).
Flagship Mission Schedules and Status
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, currently in formulation for a launch scheduled no later than September 2026, will be a primary focus of several sessions. NASA officials and representatives from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) will host a town hall on Monday, January 5, to discuss the implementation of community-defined surveys and the recently opened Cycle 1 Call for Proposals, which remains open through March 17, 2026.
The Habitable Worlds Observatory, a future flagship mission concept responding to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey, will have a dedicated special session on Tuesday, January 6. Representatives from NASA Headquarters and the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office will detail progress on identifying transformative science cases and defining the innovative instrument suite required for the large-aperture ultraviolet/optical/infrared space telescope.
Technical Programs and Program Analysis Groups
The meeting will include a series of Program Analysis Group (PAG) sessions starting Sunday, January 4, to coordinate community input for future astrophysics strategies. These may include:
- Cosmic Origins (COPAG): Focused on ultraviolet and infrared science technology interest groups, including spatially resolved UV spectroscopy.
- Physics of the Cosmos (PhysPAG): Scheduled sessions on January 4 and 5 will address cosmic structure, X-ray science, and gravitational wave astronomy.
- Joint PAG Session: NASA Astrophysics Division Director Shawn Domagal-Goldman will participate in a Q&A panel on Sunday afternoon to discuss “Physics of the Cosmos in the 2030s and Beyond”.
Advanced Data and Ground Systems
NASA will also introduce the Astrophysics Cross-Observatory Science Support (ACROSS) facility on Wednesday, January 7. This new facility is designed to enable coordinated multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics (TDAMM) observations across different orbital and ground-based platforms.
In addition to the civil missions, the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory will present first science results and discuss the impact of satellite constellations on ground-based astronomical observations during sessions on January 6 and 7.
Upcoming Milestones
The 247th AAS meeting serves as the final major community briefing before several significant 2026 milestones, including the expected wrap-up of JWST Cycle 4 and the final pre-launch testing phases for the Roman Space Telescope. Participants can visit the NASA booth in the exhibit hall for live Hyperwall demonstrations of mission-specific data and simulated wide-field maps of the universe.
