NASA’s latest space telescope, SPHEREx, has officially begun its journey into the cosmos.
Launched on March 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the $488 million mission is poised to revolutionize how we understand the early universe, the formation of galaxies, and the molecular ingredients for life.
SPHEREx is short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer.
The telescope will spend the next two years scanning the entire night sky in infrared light, building a three-dimensional map of the universe that complements the work of the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes.
This was reported by WP Tech.
A Telescope Built to Answer Big Questions
Unlike traditional space telescopes that zoom in on small areas of space, SPHEREx will take a wide-angle view, scanning the entire sky every six months with 102 infrared sensors.
Over its mission, it is expected to collect data from over 450 million galaxies.
Its scientific mission is expansive: from unraveling how galaxies form and evolve, to tracking interstellar ice, to searching for life-essential molecules such as water and carbon dioxide hidden in cold clouds of gas and dust.
“Questions like ‘Where did we come from?’ and ‘Are we alone?’ have been asked by humans throughout history. I think it's amazing that we live in a time when we have the scientific tools to actually begin to answer them,” said James Fanson, SPHEREx Project Manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
SPHEREx uses spectroscopy, a technique that analyzes how light is absorbed and emitted by materials, allowing scientists to determine the composition of distant objects. It will operate in low Earth orbit, synchronized with the Sun’s motion to protect its sensitive instruments from heat and glare.
A Partner in Solar Research
SPHEREx wasn’t alone on its journey to space.
The same rocket carried NASA’s PUNCH mission—a set of four small satellites designed to work together to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere and the origins of the solar wind. The mission aims to improve space weather forecasting by providing three-dimensional views of solar activity.
Led by NASA scientist Craig DeForest, PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) will now undergo a 90-day calibration phase as it settles into formation. Together, the SPHEREx and PUNCH missions represent a new era of observing space—from the distant edges of the cosmos to the dynamic space weather in our solar system.
Once fully operational, SPHEREx will circle Earth 14.5 times a day, completing around 11,000 orbits during its mission. Unlike Webb, which peers deep into specific regions of the sky, SPHEREx will offer a broad, panoramic map, acting as a cosmic surveyor.
This data will help astronomers determine how galaxies change over time, detect where water and organic compounds are hidden in space, and peer back into the ancient light left over from the Big Bang.
