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NASA Launches SPHEREx Telescope

  • 12 Mar 2025

On 12th March 2025, NASA launched the SPHEREx telescope aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to study the universe’s origins and search for hidden water in the Milky Way.

Key Points

  • SPHEREx Mission: The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer will survey over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars.
  • Exploring Cosmic Inflation: The telescope will investigate the rapid expansion of the universe after the Big Bang, searching for echoes of this event.
  • Mapping in 102 Colors: SPHEREx will create a 3D map of the cosmos by splitting light into 102 individual wavelengths.
  • Water in Space: It will search for frozen water and key molecules on interstellar dust grains, crucial for understanding the origins of water in the universe.
  • PUNCH Mission: Alongside SPHEREx, NASA launched four small satellites for the PUNCH mission to study the solar wind and its impact on space weather.