NASA Launches SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions to Unravel Cosmic Mysteries
In a significant stride for space exploration, NASA’s advanced space observatory, SPHEREx, embarked on its cosmic voyage Tuesday night, accompanied by the PUNCH mission, both riding aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This dual launch signifies a major investment in understanding the universe’s fundamental questions, from its origins and evolution to the potential for life beyond Earth and the dynamics of our Sun.
The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission represents years of dedicated development by NASA. This sophisticated telescope, standing 8½ feet tall and shaped like a cone, is equipped with infrared capabilities, allowing it to peer through cosmic dust and capture light invisible to the human eye. Over the next two years, SPHEREx will undertake an ambitious mission to map the entire celestial sky in 3D, repeating this process every six months. The telescope will meticulously survey hundreds of millions of galaxies and over 100 million stars within our own Milky Way galaxy, seeking to unlock secrets about the universe’s early history and search for signs of the building blocks of life in our galactic neighborhood.
A central aspect of SPHEREx’s mission is the use of spectroscopy to measure the distance to approximately 450 million galaxies in the nearby universe. By analyzing the light emitted by these galaxies, scientists can determine how far away they are and how fast they are moving. This data will provide valuable insights into the universe’s expansion history, particularly an event believed to have occurred almost 14 billion years ago following the Big Bang. Astronomers theorize that this expansion event influenced the distribution of galaxies throughout the cosmos, and SPHEREx’s observations will help validate or refine these theories.
Beyond mapping the locations of galaxies, SPHEREx will also measure the collective glow of all galaxies in the universe. This measurement will offer crucial information about how galaxies formed and evolved over cosmic time, providing a deeper understanding of the processes that shaped the universe we see today.
However, SPHEREx’s focus is not solely on distant galaxies. The telescope will also turn its attention to our own Milky Way, searching for hidden reservoirs of frozen water ice and other essential molecules, such as carbon dioxide. These molecules are considered fundamental to the emergence of life as we know it, and their presence in the Milky Way could provide clues about the potential for life to exist elsewhere in our galaxy.
James Fanson, the project manager of SPHEREx, emphasized the profound nature of the mission’s goals. "Questions like ‘How did we get here?’ and ‘Are we alone?’ have been asked by humans for all of history," Fanson said. "I think it’s incredible that we are alive at a time when we have the scientific tools to actually start to answer them."
Sharing the ride with SPHEREx was NASA’s PUNCH mission (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere). PUNCH is comprised of four small satellites that will collaboratively study the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona, and how it transitions into the solar wind. The solar wind is a continuous stream of charged particles that flows outward from the Sun, impacting everything in its path, including Earth.
Over its two-year mission, the PUNCH satellites will make 3D observations of both the inner solar system and the corona, aiming to understand how the Sun’s mass and energy are converted into solar wind. This research will also delve into space weather events, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun. CMEs can trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth, which can disrupt satellite communications, power grids, and even pose risks to astronauts in space. By studying these events, PUNCH aims to improve our ability to predict their arrival and potential impact on Earth. PUNCHs insights could lead to more accurate prediction about the arrival and impact of space weather events on Earth, NASA says.
The design of both SPHEREx and PUNCH missions incorporates a key element: they are engineered to operate in low-Earth orbit in a manner that keeps the Sun in a consistent position relative to each spacecraft. This is crucial for SPHEREx, as it allows the telescope to be shielded from the Sun’s light and heat, which would interfere with its observations. For PUNCH, this design provides a clear, unobstructed view in all directions around the Sun, enabling comprehensive observations of the corona and the solar wind.
Following the launch, ground controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, which manages SPHEREx, successfully established communication with the space observatory. Over the next month, engineers and scientists will conduct thorough checks to ensure that all spacecraft systems are functioning correctly before SPHEREx begins its two-year mission.
NASA Associate Administrator Nicky Fox, of the Science Mission Directorate, expressed her excitement about the dual mission launch. "Sending both SPHEREx and PUNCH up on a single rocket doubles the opportunities to do incredible science in space," Fox said. "Congratulations to both mission teams as they explore the cosmos from far-out galaxies to our neighborhood star. I am excited to see the data returned in the years to come."
NASA envisions SPHEREx as a valuable complement to existing space telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. While Hubble and Webb excel at zooming in on small areas of the universe with exceptional detail, SPHEREx will provide a broader, more panoramic view of the cosmos. By identifying objects of scientific interest across a wider field of view, SPHEREx can help guide Hubble and Webb to specific targets for more detailed study. This collaborative approach will provide scientists with a more comprehensive and complete understanding of the universe.
In essence, SPHEREx is designed to fill a critical gap in our ability to observe and understand the universe. It will enable scientists to address fundamental questions about the universe’s origins, evolution, and potential for life, while also complementing the capabilities of existing space telescopes to provide a more holistic view of the cosmos. With its advanced technology and ambitious scientific goals, SPHEREx promises to revolutionize our understanding of the universe and our place within it.
