Peering 10 years into the future, a group of world-class astronomers suggests it's time to start thinking about the successor to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
The Hubble is now marking its fifth anniversary in what is planned to be a 15-year career studying the farthest reaches of the universe - or what were once considered the farthest reaches until the Hubble showed there is far more to the universe than meets the Earthbound eye.Maybe the Hubble's lifespan can be extended beyond 2005 when astronauts pay their next service call in a year or two. But to allow the Hubble to wink out without a replacement would be an act of willful ignorance.
The science involved in this project is too valuable, the planning time too long - Hubble itself was eight years late in lifting off - and the design too complicated to delay in charting the next generation of space telescope.
Now's the time to start work on Hubble II - mankind's second major attempt at the clearest and most penetrating look at the universe.