NASA’s newest space telescope, SPHEREx, has successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, setting off on a groundbreaking mission to map the entire sky in infrared light.
The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) will create a vast three-dimensional map of the cosmos.
A Telescope Unlike Any Other
Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, SPHEREx entered a polar orbit around Earth at 420 miles (675 km) altitude. Over the next two years, it will use its infrared sensors to build a detailed three-dimensional map of the cosmos, scanning the entire sky four times in 102 different wavelengths.
” SPHEREx is going to produce an enormous three-dimensional map of the entire night sky, and with this immense and novel dataset, we’re going to address some of the most fundamental questions in astrophysics,” explained Phil Korngut, an astrophysicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Unlike the James Webb Space Telescope, which focuses on specific targets in deep space, SPHEREx is designed to observe the entire sky at once, detecting faint cosmic signatures that can reveal the history of the universe.
A Mission To Uncover The Universe’s Origins
One of SPHEREx’s key objectives is to investigate cosmic inflation, a theory suggesting that the universe expanded faster than the speed of light in the moments following the Big Bang. Scientists believe this rapid expansion left behind subtle imprints in the cosmic structure, which SPHEREx will help analyze by mapping hundreds of millions of galaxies.
By studying how light from these galaxies is distributed across space and time, astronomers hope to piece together the cosmic web—the large-scale structure of the universe shaped by dark matter and gravity.
Partnering With PUNCH To Understand The Sun
SPHEREx was not alone on its journey to space. NASA took advantage of a rideshare opportunity by launching another mission, PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere), alongside it. Comprising four small satellites, PUNCH will study the solar corona—the outer atmosphere of the sun—and the solar wind, which affects space weather and can impact satellite operations on Earth.
NASA officials highlighted that pairing SPHEREx with PUNCH saved at least $15 million in launch costs, demonstrating a new strategy of maximizing science returns while optimizing budgets.
The Legacy Of An All-sky Infrared Survey
Unlike targeted deep-space observatories like JWST or Hubble, SPHEREx will build a comprehensive catalog of infrared light sources across the universe. Its data will support future astronomical missions and allow scientists to compare findings with high-resolution images from more powerful telescopes.
With its ability to see beyond the visible spectrum, SPHEREx may unlock cosmic mysteries that have eluded astronomers for decades. As it scans the sky over the next two years, its massive dataset is expected to drive discoveries in cosmology, exoplanet science, and galactic evolution, shaping our understanding of the universe for years to come.