(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) SPHEREx MISSION

(APRIL-2025)

SPHEREx MISSION

NASA has launched the SPHEREx space telescope, a $488 million mission, to help scientists understand how galaxies form and how the universe has evolved over time.

What is SPHEREx?

Full Name: Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer
Type: Space Observatory
Launch Date: March 11, 2025
Mission Duration: 2 years
Cost: $488 million

Main Goals of the Mission

1. Map the Entire Sky

SPHEREx will perform an all-sky spectral survey (like a 3D map) every six months.
It will look at both optical and near-infrared light to see deeper into space than ever before.

2. Explore the Origins of the Universe

It will study over 450 million galaxies—some so far away that their light took 10 billion years to reach Earth.
It aims to understand a key event in the early universe called cosmic inflation—a period shortly after the Big Bang when the universe expanded faster than light.

3. Search for Life-Essential Molecules

Within our Milky Way galaxy, SPHEREx will search for water and organic molecules (which are building blocks of life).
These will be found in:

Stellar nurseries (where stars are born)
Protoplanetary disks (dust rings around young stars where planets might form)

How Will SPHEREx Work?

It will scan the sky in 102 color bands, creating the most colorful and detailed map of the universe ever made.
Uses technologies adapted from Earth observation satellites and spacecraft.