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：