NASA Prepares to Launch New Telescope for Mapping the Cosmos
SPHEREx to Enhance Understanding of the Solar System with NEOWISE Sensitivity
Washington: The American space agency NASA is preparing to send its new telescope into space, which could aid in mapping the universe and protecting Earth from celestial threats.
In a recent research article authored by researchers from Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, it was revealed that the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) will provide an opportunity, using the sensitivity of the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), to categorize millions of objects in the solar system.
NEOWISE has been a successful mission for NASA in finding celestial bodies, having surveyed over 3,000 near-Earth objects during its 10-year operation. According to the authors, data obtained from SPHEREx will enable the observation of potentially hazardous objects and ultimately aid in safeguarding the planet.
While some researchers are working on methods to deflect or alter the orbits of these objects, others are busy categorizing celestial bodies to the best of their ability, highlighting the crucial need for a mission like SPHEREx.
NASA's SPHEREx telescope, expected to launch in the second quarter of 2025 or later, will conduct optical and infrared surveys of the entire sky for two years in space.
The primary objective of this mission is to gather data on 30 million galaxies and 10 million stars within the Milky Way and neighboring galaxies.