SPHEREx Mission:
NASA’s SPHEREx mission turned its infrared gaze on interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS recently, adding to the deep pool of information, the agency has gathered on what is only the third such object to be discovered passing through our solar system.The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) telescope is a megaphone-shaped telescope.
- It is a NASA Astrophysics mission launched in 2025.
- It will survey the sky in optical as well as near-infrared light, which, though not visible to the human eye, serves as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions.
- Over a two-year planned mission, the SPHEREx Observatory will collect data on the other galaxies along with Milky Way in order to explore the origins of the universe.
- With this capability, SPHEREx will produce a three-dimensional map of the universe.
- Scientists will use this map to answer big questions about the early universe, the history of galaxies, and the prevalence of life-sustaining molecules in planet-forming regions of space.
- It also will identify targets for more detailed study by future missions, such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope.
