Out of this world: NASA launches its SPHEREx and PUNCH missions

By: Dariana Guzman

The SPHEREx Space Telescope. (Benjamin Fry/NASA/BAE Systems)

Lifting off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, NASA’s newest space telescope will aid astronomers in the SPHEREx observatory in creating the most colorful cosmic map to date of the key molecules essential for life within the Milky Way.

Using a 20-centimeter aperture and a specialized spectrophotometer to analyze 96 color bands, the SPHEREx telescope will collect spectral data from more than 450 million galaxies and over 100 million stars to create a 3D cosmic map.

The telescope was carried on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, and will embark on a two-year mission to conduct a survey of the sky in both optical and near-infrared light, which cannot be visible to the human eye, to prove insight of the universe that we reside in.

One of the primary objectives of SPHEREx is to investigate the theorized phenomenon of cosmic inflation. This was the rapid and exponential expansion of the universe in a fraction of a second after the Big Bang that occurred roughly 13.8 billion years ago. The mission seeks to uncover clues and understand the physics of the phenomenon with the maps produced with the aid of the telescope.

Additionally, SPHEREx will examine the abundance and distribution of water and the organic molecules in the Milky Way. By analyzing molecular clouds – dense regions where new stars and planets form – researchers will be allowed to gain a better understanding of the availability of raw materials for life. The telescope will also help measure the collective glow from galaxies near and far.

But the anticipated launch didn’t only consist of the telescope.

Sharing a ride on the Falcon 9 was a constellation of four small satellites which are part of NASA’s PUNCH mission designed to study the sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona, and solar wind.

NASA’s PUNCH Satellite. (Alex Valdez/USSF 30th Space Wing)

The satellites will be positioned in Earth’s orbit to capture different angles of the solar wind’s movement. Three satellites will carry a Wide Field Imager (WFI) to capture the outer corona and solar wind while one will carry a Narrow Field Imager (NFI), a coronagraph that blocks the sun’s bright light to observe finer details.

By imaging the entire inner heliosphere, PUNCH can help researchers understand the sun, solar wind and Earth as a single system. This could allow the understanding of the space weather surrounding our planet.

After various postponed launch dates, the Falcon 9 lifted off at 11:11 p.m. Eastern time on March 11. Follow the latest updates and live coverage here.