The system potentially can detect young, Jupiter-size planets orbiting other sun-like stars in the Milky Way, capable of supporting life, by studying the disk of dust, asteroids, planets and other debris orbiting the stars and gain a better understanding of the processes and dynamics that formed solar system.
The success of PICTURE-C test launch, makes space-based direct imaging a reality and helps NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) with such technological support.
[6] Members associated with the project are Supriya Chakraborti, Timothy Cook, Kuravi Hewawasam, Susanna Finn and Christopher Mendillo.
[5] Project Blue aims to design, build and launch a small and lightweight space telescope to detect habitable planets around the nearest star Alpha Centauri.
NASA has awarded the team $200,000 to develop and test a prototype satellite, called SPACE HAUC-1, which is the UMass Lowell's first mission to go around the Earth.