{"dataset":{"slug":"telescopes","title":"Space Telescopes","description":"Orbiting observatories.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":20,"sources":["nasa","esa"]},"entities":[{"id":"space_telescope:ariel","name":"Ariel (exoplanet mission)","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"The European Space Agency's Ariel is the first mission dedicated to surveying the atmospheres of a large, diverse sample of known exoplanets — around a thousand — chiefly by transmission and emission spectroscopy at infrared wavelengths. Selected as ESA's fourth medium-class mission and planned for launch in 2029, it aims to link atmospheric composition to how and where planets form.","entryPath":"/exoplanet-science/ariel"},{"id":"space_telescope:chandra-x-ray-observatory","name":"Chandra X-ray Observatory","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"The Chandra X-ray Observatory is a NASA space telescope launched in 1999 that observes the universe in X-ray wavelengths.","entryPath":"/astronomy/space-telescopes/chandra-x-ray-observatory"},{"id":"space_telescope:compton-gamma-ray-observatory","name":"Compton Gamma Ray Observatory","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (1991–2000) was one of NASA's Great Observatories, mapping the gamma-ray sky and studying gamma-ray bursts.","entryPath":"/observatories/compton-gamma-ray-observatory"},{"id":"space_telescope:euclid","name":"Euclid","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"Euclid is ESA's mission to map the geometry of the dark universe, surveying billions of galaxies to study dark matter and dark energy.","entryPath":"/observatories/euclid"},{"id":"space_telescope:fermi-gamma-ray-space-telescope","name":"Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope surveys the entire gamma-ray sky every few hours, studying pulsars, blazars, and gamma-ray bursts.","entryPath":"/observatories/fermi-gamma-ray-space-telescope"},{"id":"space_telescope:gaia","name":"Gaia","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"An ESA space observatory charting the positions, distances, and motions of nearly two billion stars in the Milky Way.","entryPath":""},{"id":"space_telescope:herschel-space-observatory","name":"Herschel Space Observatory","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"Herschel was ESA's far-infrared and submillimeter observatory (2009–2013), with the largest single mirror ever flown in space at the time.","entryPath":"/observatories/herschel-space-observatory"},{"id":"space_telescope:hinode","name":"Hinode","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"Hinode is a Japanese-led solar observatory studying the Sun's magnetic field and corona in visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray light.","entryPath":"/observatories/hinode"},{"id":"space_telescope:hubble-space-telescope","name":"Hubble Space Telescope","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"","entryPath":"/astronomy/space-telescopes/hubble-space-telescope"},{"id":"space_telescope:james-webb-space-telescope","name":"James Webb Space Telescope","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"","entryPath":"/astronomy/space-telescopes/james-webb-space-telescope"},{"id":"space_telescope:kepler-space-telescope","name":"Kepler Space Telescope","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"The Kepler Space Telescope was a NASA space observatory launched in 2009 that discovered thousands of exoplanets by monitoring stars for transit dimming.","entryPath":"/astronomy/space-telescopes/kepler-space-telescope"},{"id":"space_telescope:nancy-grace-roman","name":"Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"A NASA infrared space telescope designed for wide-field surveys of dark energy and exoplanets.","entryPath":""},{"id":"space_telescope:planck","name":"Planck","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"ESA's Planck mission (2009–2013) mapped the cosmic microwave background with unprecedented precision, refining the age and composition of the universe.","entryPath":"/observatories/planck"},{"id":"space_telescope:plato","name":"PLATO (exoplanet mission)","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"PLATO is a European Space Agency mission that will hunt for terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of bright, Sun-like stars using an array of small telescopes to watch for transits, while asteroseismology of the host stars pins down their ages and sizes. Selected as ESA's third medium-class mission, it is planned for launch in 2026.","entryPath":"/exoplanet-science/plato"},{"id":"space_telescope:soho","name":"SOHO","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"SOHO, a joint ESA–NASA mission, has studied the Sun from the L1 point since 1995 and is also the most prolific discoverer of comets.","entryPath":"/observatories/soho"},{"id":"space_telescope:solar-dynamics-observatory","name":"Solar Dynamics Observatory","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"The Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun continuously in many wavelengths, capturing the dynamics of solar activity in extraordinary detail.","entryPath":"/observatories/solar-dynamics-observatory"},{"id":"space_telescope:spitzer-space-telescope","name":"Spitzer Space Telescope","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"The Spitzer Space Telescope was a NASA infrared space observatory operating from 2003 to 2020.","entryPath":"/astronomy/space-telescopes/spitzer-space-telescope"},{"id":"space_telescope:tess","name":"TESS","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) is a NASA space telescope launched in 2018 that surveys nearby bright stars to detect transiting exoplanets.","entryPath":"/astronomy/space-telescopes/tess"},{"id":"space_telescope:trace","name":"TRACE","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"TRACE (1998–2010) imaged the Sun's transition region and corona in ultraviolet light, revealing the fine structure of magnetic loops.","entryPath":"/observatories/trace"},{"id":"space_telescope:wise","name":"WISE","type":"space_telescope","domain":"science","description":"WISE surveyed the entire sky in infrared light, cataloguing hundreds of millions of objects and, as NEOWISE, tracking near-Earth asteroids.","entryPath":"/observatories/wise"}]}