The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) has appointed Dr. Roeland van der Marel to lead its work on a proposed NASA space telescope that will provide images as sharp as the Hubble Space Telescope, but over a hundred times larger area. The space observatory, called the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA), is being studied for launch in the mid-2020s, pending program approval by NASA.

  The telescope will be used to probe the distribution of dark matter, which is most of the matter in the universe, and the characteristics of dark energy, a repulsive force that is pushing the universe apart at an ever-faster rate. The telescope will also be used to measure the abundance and characteristics of planets orbiting other stars. As a general-purpose observatory with a large survey program, it will also yield fundamental progress in many other astrophysical subjects.

  STScI is presently the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and the science and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2018.

  "WFIRST-AFTA will produce large-scale maps of the night sky at the highest resolution we have ever had. Our Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) already holds the astronomical data from some 20 astronomy missions. The addition of the enormous WFIRST-AFTA dataset would add considerably to its scientific discovery potential," STScI Director Matt Mountain said.

For a little more insight into the project see this：