The World Space Observatory UltraViolet (WSO‐UV) is an international space mission devoted to UV spectroscopy and imaging. The observatory includes a single 170 cm aperture telescope capable of high‐resolution spectroscopy, long slit low‐resolution spectroscopy, and deep UV and optical imaging. The observatory designed for observations in the Ultraviolet domain where some of the most important astrophysical processes can be efficiently studied with unprecedented capability.
Progress of modem astrophysics requires the access to the electromagnetic spectrum in the broadest energy range. The ultraviolet (UV) is a fundamental energy domain since it grants high sensitivity access to the study of both atomic plasmas at temperatures in the 3,000–300,000 K range and molecular plasmas illuminated by UV radiation since the electronic transitions of the most abundant molecules in the Universe ( CO, OH, CS, …) are in this range; the UV radiation field itself is a powerful astrochemical and photoionizing agent.
The project is managed by a large, world‐wide, consortium lead by the Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Russia.