The SPAN team attended the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) – UK Community Workshop at The Open University, led by Martin Barstow and Jesper Skottfelt. The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is NASA’s next flagship space astronomy mission, building on the legacy of Hubble, Webb, and Roman, to search for Earth-like planets and potential signs of life.
The workshop brought together academics, scientists, early-career researchers, and representatives from the UK Space Agency, STFC, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Discussions focused on the UK’s potential contributions to this ground-breaking mission, from instrumentation and science cases to strategic collaborations.
With a dedicated HWO project office now established, this is a pivotal time for the UK to showcase its expertise in space science and technology. Whether through direct partnership with NASA or collaboration via ESA, the opportunities for impactful contributions are immense.
To early-career scientists and industry professionals alike and many more of us working across the Space sector: This mission will shape space science for decades. Let’s ensure the UK plays a leading role in this exciting journey!
The mission’s objectives are transformative: identifying potentially habitable worlds and searching for biosignatures could redefine humanity’s understanding of life in the universe. If successful, HWO will mark a monumental step in answering the profound question: Are we alone?
We have SPAN Working Groups that focus on space science and exploration, technology and engineering, data and analysis, and Earth observation. Earlier this year, we established a working group on space and society.
Anushka Sharma, Liaison Manager for the Space Academic Network (SPAN), led a discussion at our Space and Society Working Group meeting and began exploring the broader societal impact, engagement, and meaning of missions like HWO. This helps to drive wider engagement across SPAN members who are working in social sciences, humanities, economics, business, space law and policy ans science focused missions.
Please get in touch If you are a social scientist, humanities scholar, economist, or an academic curious about the societal dimensions of the space sector. Check out our SPAN Working Groups here.
08 September 2026
We shared yesterday the news that the Government has published the new UK Space Strategy, alongside its Technical Delivery Annex. Ahead of publication, SPAN was invited to provide a response from our Co-Chairs, Professors Anna Hogg and Mark Sims. Their statement has been included in the Government's announcement:
10 August 2026
Over the summer Anushka Sharma had the privilege of moderating discussions and speaking on panels across the UK space sector, from security and defence at Farnborough International Airshow, to running a session on SPAN at the National Astronomy Meeting in Birmingham, and most recently joining a panel on DWC Resilience forum hosted at Fieldfisher
24 June 2026
SPAN Town Hall reinforced SPAN's role as the national voice of the UK space academic community and highlighted the growing recognition across government that academia is central to delivering the UK's ambitions in space through research excellence, innovation and strategic collaboration.
