NASA's $488M SPHEREx mission to explore universe's origins

NASA is set to launch a new space observatory, SPHEREx, this week, with the goal of mapping over 450 million galaxies, the agency announced.

"It's going to answer a fundamental question: How did we arrive at this point?" said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of NASA's astrophysics division, during a recent news briefing.

The launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, initially scheduled for Feb. 27, has faced multiple delays due to "vehicle processing and prelaunch checkouts" as well as site availability. The next launch window is set for 11:10 p.m. ET on Monday (03:10GMT Tuesday).

Developed over the past decade, NASA's $488 million SPHEREx mission will map the celestial sky in 102 infrared colors, surpassing any previous mission in its capability.

"NASA's latest space telescope, SPHEREx, will map the universe like none before it, providing a big-picture view that will illuminate the origins of our universe, galaxies within it, and life's key ingredients in our own galaxy," NASA stated.

Infrared instruments are capable of penetrating dust and gas, allowing scientists to observe some of the universe's oldest stars and galaxies.

SPHEREx will employ spectroscopy, which breaks infrared light into different colors, similar to how a prism separates visible light. This process enables scientists to analyze an object's composition, temperature, density, and motion.

According to Jamie Bock, the mission's principal investigator at Caltech, SPHEREx will utilize its spectrometers to survey the sky in three dimensions, studying millions of galaxies.

These observations are expected to provide key insights into galaxy formation and the origins of water and organic materials in the Milky Way.

"In splitting up the light, we can use that to determine the distance to galaxies, to build up that three-dimensional map, and we also see the fingerprints of water," Bock explained.

Understanding the origins of water is crucial for learning how life developed on Earth and identifying where essential life ingredients might exist elsewhere in the galaxy. “This is a new capability, and with any new capability comes the potential for discoveries and surprises,” Bock added.

Beyond studying galaxies and the building blocks of life, SPHEREx will also address one of astronomy's biggest mysteries — what occurred in the first moments following the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago.

By mapping the precise distribution of hundreds of millions of galaxies, the mission will help test the cosmic inflation theory, refining scientists' understanding of how the universe expanded so rapidly.

Domagal-Goldman emphasized that SPHEREx's research on galaxies, cosmic inflation, and the origins of the universe will enhance our understanding of fundamental physics.

“We're very privileged in the long story of human existence on this planet to live at a time where we can actually answer questions about the universe,” he said.