Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies [AMSCS] is a program within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency of the United States government for possible projects leading to probable prospective missions.
Pre-proposal workshops were held in October 2007.[1][2] The Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Studies (ASMCS) awards were made in the spring of 2008.
Proposals for the study of planets external to the Solar System [3] include; the evaluation of the most effective means for the direct studies of exoplanets provided affirmation for the use of starshades.[4][5] Planet Hunter Deep search of 65 nearby stars for Earth analogs.[6] Mark Clampin/Goddard Space flight centre - Extrasolar planet imaging coronograph-to produce fundamental physical characteristics of giant planets in other planetary systems.[7] Detecting Extrasolar Planets by Sharing the Burden [8]
The actively corrected coronograph for exoplanet system studies. The principal investigator of this project is J.Trauger [9] working at the California Jet propulsion laboratory.[10][11]
Pupil mapping exoplanet coronograph is a 1.4 metre optical telescope fitted with a phase-induced amplitude apodization coronagraph, to image and characterize nearby exoplanets and zodiacal dust in stars zones considered to contain planets habitable to possible life. The main investigator is Olivier Guyon from the University of Arizona.[12]
Dilute aperture visible nulling coronograph project is a 1.1 metre telescope array. The lead investigator is Michael Shao.[13]