Searching for Extraterrestrial Life
with the
Habitable Worlds Observatory

Join us for a fascinating talk about humanity’s next great mission: the search for life beyond Earth! Lee Feinberg, Principal Architect of NASA’s proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), will be the speaker. Lee will present the science and engineering behind this future flagship telescope, covering the key science drivers, the various architectures under study, and the technologies being utilized for the HWO. He will also discuss how lessons learned from previous space telescopes are shaping this effort.

You are invited to watch the talk on the big screen at the observatory. Come meet Lee virtually and participate in our always lively Q&A session afterward! The talk will also be available online via Zoom.

The Habitable Worlds Observatory is being designed as a massive, next-generation space telescope—often called a “super-Hubble” — that will build on the technologies of the Hubble, James Webb, and Roman space telescopes. The primary goal of the HWO is to directly image Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars and analyze their atmospheres for biosignatures, or chemical evidence of life.

Lee Feinberg brings a wealth of experience from NASA’s most critical space projects. He currently serves as the Principal Architect for the HWO at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. For over 20 years, he was the Telescope Manager and optics lead for the revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Prior to that, he was part of the team responsible for repairing and upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Feinberg is a NASA Goddard Senior Fellow and a recipient of the US government’s Presidential Rank Award for his contributions to the JWST.

 

Zoom Meeting

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Time: January 21, 2026 at 7:30 PM, Eastern Time

Topic: Lee Feinberg
Meeting ID:  830 1834 4097
Passcode: program

Click the “One Clink Link” shown below. When prompted, click “open zoom.us” in the dialog shown by your browser. If you don’t see a dialog, click the blue “Launch Meeting” in the webpage.

One Click Link: Lee Feinberg Zoom

Zoom URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87474912210?pwd=CO1flxArUsP40GG7lCFSsnaGMRYb2Y.1

Manual dial-in: +1 646 558 8656
Meeting ID:    874 7491 2210
Passcode: 4310753

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