NASA’s Dark-Energy Probe Faces Cost Crisis

Scientific American ------ NASA’s next major space observatory is meant to tackle some of the biggest questions in astronomy when it launches in 2025—including what exoplanets look like and how dark energy is driving the Universe’s expansion. But the project’s cost is rising quickly, and NASA managers are struggling to keep its budget in check. The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) has grown in scope and complexity since it was proposed nearly a decade ago, and its price has swollen from US$1.6 billion in 2010 to the current estimate of $3.2 billion ($2.4 billion in 2010 dollars). That has raised concern at NASA, which in April commissioned a review by independent aero-space experts. Their report is due in the next few months. To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.