Japan's PRIMA Mission Advances with NASA Collaboration for Far-Infrared Astronomy

Japan's PRIMA (PRobe for INfrared Mission for Astrophysics) effort is progressing into a new phase, with NASA actively advancing the far-infrared space telescope mission. Since 2023, Japanese researchers have been conducting scientific and technical studies and exploring potential contributions to PRIMA. The mission aims to survey the universe in far-infrared light, which is largely blocked by Earth's atmosphere and not extensively covered by existing observatories. PRIMA seeks to answer fundamental questions regarding the formation of planets and their atmospheres, the co-evolution of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes, and the accumulation of dust and heavy elements throughout cosmic history.