After delays lasting over a week, two exciting NASA missions are set to launch together on a single rocket. These missions aim to explore the mysteries of our universe, one looking far beyond Earth and the other focusing on our very own sun.
The star of the show is SPHEREx, a sophisticated space telescope designed to capture images of the entire sky in over a hundred unique colors, many of which we cannot see with our eyes. Alongside SPHEREx, a group of satellites called PUNCH will study the sun’s outer atmosphere and the solar wind that flows from it.
The launch is slated for Monday, March 10, at 11:10 p.m. Eastern time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The date has already been pushed back several times since late February, with the latest delay happening just two hours before the planned launch on a recent Saturday night. SpaceX announced that extra checks were required on the Falcon 9 rocket.
If you’re interested in watching, NASA will stream a live broadcast starting at 10:15 p.m. Eastern time on launch night. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, don’t worry—the launch window is open until April.
What is SPHEREx?
SPHEREx stands for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer. It aims to conduct an extensive survey of the sky, analyzing 102 different wavelengths of infrared light. This comprehensive data will help scientists understand the universe’s history and its formation.
With missions like SPHEREx and PUNCH, we are on the brink of new discoveries that could transform our understanding of space science.
Check out this related article: Revealing Insights: How Earth’s Orbit Shapes Ice Ages and Climate Change
Source linkSpace and Astronomy
