NASA is set to launch its SPHEREx observatory in late February 2025, providing unparalleled insights into the universe’s origins and evolution. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a subcompact car, will map the entire sky in 3D by capturing images in every direction, revealing hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies.
The mission aims to answer three key scientific questions: shedding light on cosmic inflation, measuring galaxy glow, and searching for building blocks of life. By studying the distribution of galaxies, SPHEREx will help scientists understand what drove inflation, a brief but powerful event that expanded space in its early stages.
The observatory will also capture the collective glow from galaxies near and far, including hidden ones that haven’t been individually observed. This data will provide a more complete picture of the universe’s objects and sources radiating light.
Additionally, SPHEREx will search the Milky Way galaxy for icy granules of water, carbon dioxide, and other essential building blocks of life. By locating these compounds in our galaxy, scientists will gain a better understanding of how likely they are to be incorporated into newly forming planets.
The launch is part of a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission’s success will also rely on the PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) constellation of four small satellites, which will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s corona to learn how solar wind is formed.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-and-spacex-set-to-unlock-the-universes-secrets-with-spherex-launch-in-early-2025