NASA’s SPHEREx Project Will Be Looking For Clues to the Big Bang

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Caltech

Caltech

By: Conner Elling, Reporter

In February of 2019, NASA selected SPHEREx to be apart of the next space exploration mission. This is a planned 2-year mission designed to gather information about the universe and possibly learning the secrets to the big bang.  As of now, the mission is in phase 3 which means that they have started the manufacturing process. This is an essential milestone in the development of SPHEREx. The size will be similar to the size of a compact car, and it will weigh roughly 1 ton.

By using infrared light which is not visible to the human eye they will be able to see what secrets the universe holds. The goal is to gather data and information about stars and in more than 300 million galaxies! The mission will also be searching for water and other organic molecules essential for life. Every 6 months SPHEREx will have a new high color resolution map of the sky! The launch date is set for January 24th, 2024. That might change but for now, that is the date.

This is a very important event that could change the way we think about the universe. If this mission is successful it could unlock the secrets of the big bang and gives us a better understanding of where we are in this galaxy.

RELATED STORIES:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/spherex

https://spherex.caltech.edu/

https://www.ball.com/aerospace/programs/spherex