SUMMARY: NASA has picked 9 ideas out of 26 proposals for further study as part of its Astronomical Search for Origins Program. Among the ideas are: a mission that would survey a billion stars in the galaxy; an infrared observatory to examine some of the most distant galaxies in the Universe; an optical-UV replacement to the Hubble Space Telescope; and a mission that would measure the shape of cosmic inflation. Each program will have another 8 months to further develop and refine their concepts, and demonstrate how they can answer the questions: "how did we get here", and "are we alone?"

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