300 million galaxies await: SpaceX wins contract to launch SPHEREx infrared telescope for NASA

the sphere is a two-year astrophysical mission to explore outer space in near-infrared light, which, although invisible to the human eye, serves as a powerful source of information about the birth of the universe and the subsequent evolution of galaxies.

The SPHEREx infrared telescope will also search for water and organic molecules as we know life is cloudy regions where stars are born from gas and dust – sometimes called stellar nurseries. Disks around stars will also be studied, where new planets may form.

Astronomers will use the telescope to collect data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in the Milky Way. The total cost of the SPHEREx mission to NASA will be approximately $ 98.8 million, including launch services and other expenses.

The mission is funded by the Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Missions Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC. It is led by the Explorers Program at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is responsible for overall project management, systems engineering, integration, testing, and mission operations.

The mission is currently aimed at launching in June 2024 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.