Overview
- Authored by NASA researchers and posted to arXiv, the paper lays out a prioritized “data wishlist” to ensure HWO observations can be interpreted reliably.
- The authors call for computational astrochemistry to quantify detection thresholds for under-studied gases, including methyl halides and organosulfurs, across HWO’s visible–near‑infrared range.
- The paper flags missing laboratory spectra for industrial or terraforming molecules such as CFCs and notes uncertainties in how common gases like methane behave in non‑Earth atmospheres.
- To avoid mistaking geology for biology, the team urges building a large surface reflectance database to distinguish vegetation-like signatures from minerals such as iron oxide, sulfur, or cinnabar.
- The roadmap emphasizes precise host‑star compositions and ages and warns of complexities in multi‑star systems, with HWO expected to launch in the 2040s.