It’s becoming common for space missions to get extensions. Take the Voyager spacecraft, for example. They’ve been sending data back for over 40 years, long after their initial missions ended. A similar fate might await the Euclid telescope, which is set to conclude its primary mission in 2030. Currently, Euclid is focused on mapping the “dark universe,” studying dark energy and dark matter.
A recent paper by Dr. Luigi “Rolly” Bedin from the Astronomical Institute of Padova presents an exciting prospect for Euclid’s future. With some extra fuel on board, Euclid could operate for about eight more years, doubling its original six-year mission. Instead of exploring new territory, Dr. Bedin suggests that Euclid could repeat its previous observations.
Why repeat the same mission? This would provide a crucial second data point to track how objects move over time, a concept known as “proper motion.” This measurement helps scientists understand the movement of nearby stars compared to more distant galaxies. The six-year gap between observations would be perfect for calculating these changes meaningfully.
Some may wonder about Gaia, another mission set to create a 3D map of our galaxy. Gaia observes star movements using several images taken at different times. However, it has limitations; it can only detect relatively bright stars. In contrast, Euclid is designed to find much fainter objects. This means that even if Gaia has a longer mission, it can’t measure as many faint sources as Euclid can. Their combined data can actually increase the accuracy of Gaia’s findings significantly.
Dr. Bedin also proposes an innovative third stage for Euclid: measuring parallax for a limited set of stars. To do this, Euclid would take images of stars six months apart from opposite sides of the Sun. This technique mimics human depth perception and allows astronomers to better gauge the distance of stars.
While Dr. Bedin notes engineering challenges for this third observation phase, he believes they are manageable. The plan to repeat the proper motion observations is straightforward, as it’s what Euclid was made to do. With ample time remaining in its primary mission, engineers could explore whether they can implement the parallax measurements too.
In a rapidly evolving field like astronomy, extending missions like Euclid’s can lead to groundbreaking discoveries. These insights can deepen our understanding of the universe. It’s a smart use of resources, and one that could unlock fascinating new findings.
For more about Euclid’s mission and its potential future, you can read Dr. Bedin’s preprint here.
