Date: 10/01/2021 18:56:38
From: Tau.Neutrino
ID: 1678112
Subject: A New NASA Space Telescope, SPHEREx, Is Moving Ahead

A New NASA Space Telescope, SPHEREx, Is Moving Ahead

The observatory will map the entire sky to study the rapid expansion of the universe after the big bang, the composition of young planetary systems, and the history of galaxies.

NASA’s upcoming space telescope, the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, or SPHEREx, is one step closer to launch. The mission has officially entered Phase C, in NASA lingo. That means the agency has approved preliminary design plans for the observatory, and work can begin on creating a final, detailed design, as well as on building the hardware and software.

more…

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Date: 10/01/2021 19:08:16
From: mollwollfumble
ID: 1678120
Subject: re: A New NASA Space Telescope, SPHEREx, Is Moving Ahead

Tau.Neutrino said:


A New NASA Space Telescope, SPHEREx, Is Moving Ahead

The observatory will map the entire sky to study the rapid expansion of the universe after the big bang, the composition of young planetary systems, and the history of galaxies.

NASA’s upcoming space telescope, the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, or SPHEREx, is one step closer to launch. The mission has officially entered Phase C, in NASA lingo. That means the agency has approved preliminary design plans for the observatory, and work can begin on creating a final, detailed design, as well as on building the hardware and software.

more…

SPHEREx will be the first NASA mission to build a full-sky spectroscopy map in near-infrared, and it will observe a total of 102 near-infrared colors.

Normal near-infrared for spacecraft is only in 5 or so colours. I’m not quite sure what they intend doing with this but it seems intriguing.

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Date: 11/01/2021 05:59:13
From: mollwollfumble
ID: 1678273
Subject: re: A New NASA Space Telescope, SPHEREx, Is Moving Ahead

Expected launch date 2024.

SPHEREx will survey the sky in optical as well as near-infrared light.

SPHEREx will survey hundreds of millions of galaxies near and far, some so distant their light has taken 10 billion years to reach Earth. In the Milky Way, the mission will search for water and organic molecules – essentials for life, as we know it – in stellar nurseries, regions where stars are born from gas and dust, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming.

Every six months, SPHEREx will survey the entire sky.

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