SPHEREx

NASA is set to launch SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) on February 28, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. 

• This two-year mission aims to explore the formation of the universe, galactic evolution, and the presence of life-forming molecules in the Milky Way.

About the Mission

• SPHEREx is designed to create a detailed infrared map of the entire sky, providing insights into the universe’s origin, cosmic inflation, and potential habitability conditions. 
• Unlike telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which focus on specific deep-space regions, SPHEREx will conduct broad surveys covering billions of celestial objects.

Key Features

• Revolutionizes Sky Mapping: First-ever full-sky survey with high-resolution color depth.
  • Most Colorful Map of the Universe : Scans the entire sky in 102 infrared colors every six months. Uses infrared & optical light detection (infrared reveals distant galaxies, star formations, and cosmic structures).

• Studies Cosmic Inflation: SPHEREx will use 3D spectroscopic imaging to map  450 million galaxies to investigate the universe’s rapid expansion after the Big Bang.
  • It helps explain many aspects of the universe such as its flatness, or lack of curvature, on the largest scales.
• Detects Life-Forming Molecules: Identifies  biogenic molecules (water, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen) frozen in icy regions of the Milky Way.
  • Crucial for understanding life’s origins in space. 
  • Helps in the search for habitable planets & extraterrestrial life.

With SPHEREx, NASA is taking a major step toward uncovering the mysteries of the universe and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.