Euclid Space Telescope : To be Launched
In an unprecedented effort, the European Space Agency plans to survey billions of galaxies using the Euclid Space Telescope, which is to be launched on July 1.
- Euclid Space Telescope is named after the Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria.
- This mission is part of ESA’s Cosmic Vision programme, which plans to explore the origin and components of the Universe and the fundamental laws that govern it.
- The spacecraft will have a 1.2-metre-wide telescope and two instruments;
- It will look for tiny distortions in the shapes of distant galaxies from different points in time to highlight the tussle between the pull of gravity and the push of dark energy.
- It will look at how quickly the galaxies are moving away from each other, which will offer scientists insight into both dark energy and the working of gravity.
- The detectors of the near-infrared instruments have been supplied by NASA, making the American agency an important part of the Euclid Consortium.
- It will be floating 1.5 million kilometres above the Earth, and the telescope hopes to deliver images that are at least four times sharper than ground-based ones.
- The spacecraft measures approximately 4.7 metres tall and 3.7 metres in diameter.
- It will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will remain operational for a minimum of six years.
