NASA’s Latest Astrophysics Observatory SPHEREx Embarks on a Cosmic Exploration Journey
In an exciting development for space science, NASA has launched its latest astrophysics observatory, SPHEREx, on a mission to delve into the mysteries of the universe’s origins and the history of galaxies, while also searching for life-sustaining elements within our galaxy. This groundbreaking mission, known formally as the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, took flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at precisely 8:10 p.m. PDT on March 11. The launch occurred at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, marking another milestone in space exploration.
Accompanying SPHEREx on its journey were four small satellites that comprise NASA’s PUNCH mission, an acronym for Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere. This mission’s goal is to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere and its transformation into the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that flow through space and impact the entire solar system.
Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, expressed her enthusiasm for the dual mission launch. She highlighted the interconnected nature of NASA’s scientific endeavors, stating, "Sending both SPHEREx and PUNCH up on a single rocket doubles the opportunities to conduct incredible science in space." Fox extended her congratulations to both mission teams as they embark on their cosmic explorations, from distant galaxies to our neighborhood star. She eagerly anticipates the wealth of data these missions will return in the coming years.
Ground controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, which is responsible for managing the SPHEREx mission, established communication with the space observatory at 9:31 p.m. PDT. Following a one-month checkout period, during which engineers and scientists will ensure the spacecraft’s proper functionality, SPHEREx will commence its two-year primary mission.
Laurie Leshin, Director of NASA JPL, praised the dedication of the SPHEREx team, noting their resilience in keeping the mission on track despite challenges posed by wildfires in Southern California. She expressed anticipation for the scientific breakthroughs that SPHEREx’s all-sky survey will bring, including insights into the universe’s origins and the location of life’s essential ingredients.
The PUNCH satellites successfully separated from the launch vehicle approximately 53 minutes after liftoff, and ground controllers have established communication with all four spacecraft. PUNCH now enters a 90-day commissioning phase, during which the satellites will align into the correct orbital formation and calibrate their instruments to function as a single "virtual instrument." This preparation will enable scientists to commence their analysis of the solar wind’s behavior.
Both SPHEREx and PUNCH are designed to operate in a low Earth, Sun-synchronous orbit along the day-night line, known as the terminator. This orbital configuration ensures that the Sun remains in the same relative position to the spacecraft, which is crucial for SPHEREx to shield its telescope from the Sun’s light and heat, both of which could hinder observations. Similarly, PUNCH benefits from this setup by maintaining an unobstructed view in all directions around the Sun.
SPHEREx’s ambitious scientific goals include creating a 3D map of the entire celestial sky every six months. This comprehensive perspective will complement the work of other space telescopes, such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope, which focus on smaller sections of the sky in greater detail.
The mission employs a technique known as spectroscopy to measure the distances to 450 million galaxies in the nearby universe. Spectroscopy is the study of how light interacts with matter, allowing scientists to determine the composition and distance of cosmic objects. By analyzing the distribution of these galaxies, SPHEREx aims to uncover subtle influences from an event that occurred nearly 14 billion years ago, known as inflation. This event caused the universe to expand exponentially in a fraction of a second following the Big Bang.
Additionally, SPHEREx will measure the total collective glow of all galaxies in the universe, offering new insights into how galaxies have formed and evolved over cosmic time. The mission will also survey our home galaxy for hidden reservoirs of frozen water ice and other molecules, such as carbon dioxide, which are essential for life as we understand it.
James Fanson, SPHEREx Project Manager at JPL, emphasized the mission’s significance in addressing fundamental questions about our existence and the possibility of life beyond Earth. He remarked, "Questions like ‘How did we get here?’ and ‘Are we alone?’ have been asked by humans throughout history. It’s incredible that we have the scientific tools to begin answering them."
NASA’s PUNCH mission will provide global, 3D observations of the inner solar system and the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona. The mission aims to understand how the Sun’s mass and energy transform into the solar wind, a phenomenon that influences space weather events such as coronal mass ejections. These events can generate storms of energetic particles that pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
Craig DeForest, the mission’s principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute, explained the importance of PUNCH’s objectives. He stated, "The space between planets is not an empty void. It’s filled with turbulent solar wind that washes over Earth. The PUNCH mission is designed to answer fundamental questions about how stars like our Sun produce stellar winds and how they give rise to hazardous space weather events right here on Earth."
More About SPHEREx and PUNCH
The SPHEREx mission is managed by NASA’s JPL for the agency’s Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate. The telescope and spacecraft bus were built by BAE Systems, formerly known as Ball Aerospace. A team of scientists from ten institutions in the United States, two in South Korea, and one in Taiwan will conduct the scientific analysis of SPHEREx data. The data will be processed and archived at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. The mission’s principal investigator holds a joint appointment at Caltech and JPL. The SPHEREx dataset will be publicly accessible through the NASA-IPAC Infrared Science Archive.
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) leads the PUNCH mission, having built the four spacecraft and Wide Field Imager instruments at its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. The Narrow Field Imager instrument was constructed by the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. The mission is operated from SwRI’s offices in Boulder, Colorado, and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, provided the launch service for both SPHEREx and PUNCH. This mission represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the universe and solar processes, and it promises to deliver valuable data that will enrich our knowledge of the cosmos.
For more information about NASA’s science missions, you can visit NASA Science.
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