On a similar vein, I have a deep yearning for a solar gravity lens to be used to image exo planets within my lifetime. I've got a long time, but it's frustrating to see so little movement on big astronomy projects like these.
What about the Terrascope [1] concept instead? Using the Earth's atmoshpere as a refractive lens. This requires a telescope of L2 rather than some 540AU away for a solar gravity lens.
Not as powerful as the latter, but much more do-able just on the distance scale alone. It would essentially be an "Eath-observing" James Webb
You've got a long time—Will you please kindly take personal responsibility to ensure we see images of seasonal foliage changes in vast forests on superearths hundreds of light years away using billions of solar gravity lensing observatories built and launched by self-replicating processes? Also don't be a slacker and get first lens light by 2050?
so little <public> movement. there is a concept of decadal projects where they are being iterated on in working groups or just smaller groups in general. they may not get much public discussion on purpose. the ideas just might not be viable yet, but then some new tech comes along and an old idea gets pulled back out of the drawer. also, so ideas are so fantastical, they receive immediate negative blow back which makes it impossible for congress critters to get on board and fund them. luckily, the public success of JWST (even after all of the delays) has helped put a positive look on some of these projects. just hope that Boeing is not attached to it
All you need to do to see some change is pick a goal and commit a long time towards it. So if you have a long time maybe you can help with this project that you would like to see.
