NASA's SPHEREx telescope begins cosmic origins mission
NASA has launched the SPHEREx telescope, designed to map the entire sky and study the origins of the universe. The device was launched into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket from the base in California.
The SPHEREx space telescope, launched into orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, commenced its mission from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. According to the NASA, its primary goal is to map the entire sky and study the origins of the universe. Scientists will also use it to search for water in the Milky Way galaxy.
During the two-year mission, SPHEREx will collect data on over 450 million galaxies and more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way. The result of the telescope's work will be a three-dimensional map of space, showing 102 colours corresponding to different wavelengths of light. Phil Korngut from Caltech, a scientist associated with the project, emphasises that the telescope aims to study the origins of the universe, particularly the first moments after the Big Bang.
SPHEREx is really trying to get at the origins of the universe - what happened in those very few first instants after the Big Bang—said the scientist quoted by the Reuters.
Searching for water and understanding inflation
SPHEREx will search for frozen water on the surface of interstellar dust grains in large clouds of gas and dust, which are the birthplace of stars and planets. Shawn Domagal-Goldman from NASA explains that the telescope will examine "echoes of the Big Bang,” which are fractions of a second after this event that have resonated in the observed areas.
Along with the SPHEREx telescope, a constellation of satellites for NASA's PUNCH mission was launched, aiming to better understand the solar wind. Four suitcase-sized satellites will observe the Sun and its surroundings, creating a three-dimensional image of the solar corona. Nicholeen Viall from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center notes that the satellites will help understand how the solar corona transitions into the solar wind.
Together, they piece together the three-dimensional global view of the solar corona - the sun's atmosphere - as it turns into the solar wind, which is the material that fills our whole solar system - said Nicholeen Viall, a scientist for the PUNCH mission from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
The SPHEREx and PUNCH missions began after delays caused by bad weather and technical issues with the rocket. Initially, the launch was planned for 28 February.
