With complementary strategies, two main space missions in the 2040s (WHO and LIFE) are being designed in order to investigate and interpret the atmospheres of temperate, rocky exoplanets - including the search for biological signatures. In this short review I will recap the main science goals, the strategy of both observatories, and the reliance on scientific milestones of the previous decade,...
I will provide a brief overview of our present knowledge of the demographics of planetary systems with (temperate) terrestrial, rocky planets. I will then outline how convergent multi-technique observational approaches in the coming two decades will help maximizing the scientific return of HWO's primary goal of searching for biosignatures in the atmospheres of tens of potentially habitable...
The exoplanet characterization follows the axiom: know the star, know the planet. In order to achieve the goal of Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) for the search of other Earths, a precise and accurate knowledge of the properties of their host star is necessary. The NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program has already released a list of ~160 nearby targets identified as the most accessible to...
In this talk, I will discuss the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE), a space mission project rooted in Europe, which has been gaining significant international support and traction over the last few years. I will summarize the scientific vision for LIFE, provide an overview of ongoing technology development efforts, and give an outlook about the overall development process.
As a...
