SPHEREx: NASA’s New Space Telescope Mission

Context: NASA is set to launch SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer), a mega telescope designed to scan over 450 million galaxies.

About SPHEREx

• The launch will take place aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
• Aim: To uncover clues about the origins of life, cosmic history and the early universe.
• Mission Duration: 2 years.
• Technological Innovation: SPHEREx will use advanced spectroscopy and imaging techniques adapted from Earth satellites and interplanetary missions.

Mission Goals: Understanding the Universe’s Evolution

Peering Back in Time

• SPHEREx will investigate dusty stellar clouds and study cosmic events soon after the Big Bang, which occurred over 13 billion years ago.
• The observatory will map the entire sky every six months in optical and near-infrared wavelengths, capturing detailed data from both nearby and distant galaxies.

The Most Detailed Sky Map Ever Created

• SPHEREx will generate a colorful 3D map of the sky using data from 102 infrared color bands—a level of detail never before achieved.
• The spectroscopically rich map will help scientists:
  • Identify the distribution of key life-forming molecules in the universe.
  • Understand how galaxies evolved over billions of years.
  • Improve models of planetary formation.

Searching for the Origins of Life

• The telescope will analyze key chemical components, including water, oxygen, carbon dioxide and other molecules, that may have played a role in the formation of planets and life.
• It will focus on stellar nurseries (regions abundant in gas where new stars are formed) as well as discs around stars that might host developing planetary systems.

Mapping Ice in Molecular Clouds

• SPHEREx will focus on molecular clouds (dense regions of space filled with thick interstellar dust grains where planets and stars eventually form).

Sharing is caring!