Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
SPHEREx, NASA’s latest space telescope, launches February 27, mapping the entire sky in 102 infrared colors. This unprecedented survey will reveal cosmic secrets hidden from even the James Webb Telescope.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Unlike telescopes like Hubble, SPHEREx specializes in both optical and infrared light, enabling it to detect galactic structures, star-forming regions, and interstellar ice that other telescopes might miss.
SPHEREx aims to unravel mysteries of cosmic inflation—the universe's rapid expansion after the Big Bang. “We still don’t know what drove inflation or why it happened,” said Jamie Bock, SPHEREx principal investigator and Caltech physicist.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The telescope will study organic ices in space, helping scientists understand how life-forming molecules traveled through the cosmos and seeded planets like Earth.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
SPHEREx complements instruments like the JWST and ground-based Vera Rubin Observatory, providing all-sky maps that guide deeper studies of key regions in space.
To prevent overheating, SPHEREx uses three photon shields and a specialized orbit to stay cool, shielding it from the sun and Earth’s thermal radiation, explained NASA’s Beth Fabinsky.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Weighing 1,100 pounds and using less power than a refrigerator, SPHEREx is a cost-efficient marvel, demonstrating how small-scale missions can deliver groundbreaking science.
SPHEREx will also enhance asteroid studies, working with missions like OSIRIS-REx to trace the journey of organic materials across the solar system.
SPHEREx’s first image, taken six months post-launch, will confirm its systems are operational. “The moment we pop the lid will tell us everything’s working,” said Jamie Bock, SPHEREx lead scientist at Caltech.
Credit: Caltech