About this Article

Neill Reid (inr[at]stsci.edu) and Julia Roman-Duval (duval[at]stsci.edu)

Published June 10, 2026

After more than 36 years in operation, Hubble continues to produce front-rank science and — with the prospect of an orbit boost — has the potential to make ground-breaking contributions through the 2030s. STScI Director Dr. Jennifer Lotz is constituting a Hubble Science in the 2030s Working Group to advise on Hubble’s science priorities and use of its unique capabilities through the 2030s. The working group will comprise 30 to 35 researchers from the Hubble user community, supported by scientists at STScI and the Hubble Project Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

As part of this process, STScI recently issued a call for white papers focused on identifying key science questions that can only be addressed by Hubble. We received an excellent response from the community. More than 90 white papers were submitted, which included over 910 authors from 209 institutions spread across 35 countries (99 in the U.S. and 70 in ESA member states). 

The topics ranged the full scope of astrophysics and planetary science, including observations of giant planets and active asteroids in the solar system, stellar chromospheric activity in other planetary systems, exoplanet characteristics, white dwarfs, massive stars, and star formation in nearby galaxies — all the way out to galaxy evolution and the high-redshift universe. 

There is a particular emphasis on ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, notably using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), as well as the G280 grism on the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Other papers highlighted how optical multi-epoch imaging can take advantage of Hubble’s longevity to measure motions of nearby galaxies and track the evolution of high-redshift lensed transients.

Writing a white paper demands significant investments of time and resources. We recognize that those resources may not have been available to many users. Consequently, following advice from the Space Telescope Users Committee (STUC), and for those who could not submit white papers, we are providing an opportunity to submit science pitches: one- to two-paragraph descriptions of key science questions that should be addressed by Hubble, with a brief outline of the required capabilities.

Science pitches should be submitted through this online form, which will remain open until the end of July 15, 2026.

Both the white papers and the science pitches will be made available to working group members to aid their deliberations. The working group will meet at STScI in the fall and develop an outline of key science priorities for Hubble. A core group will collate and synthesize those priorities to develop specific recommendations that will be provided to the STScI Director at the meeting’s conclusion. The core group will also produce a summary report for general publication, which we will share with the astronomical community.