New space telescope to explore origins of universe

Washington: US space agency NASA has unveiled a new space telescope that would begin a two-year mission in 2023 to look for life’s ingredients and probe how the universe evolved. The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionisation and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission is a planned two-year mission, funded at $242 million, and will survey the sky in optical as well as near-infrared light. “I’m really excited about this new mission,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement on Wednesday. “Not only does it expand the US’ powerful fleet of space-based missions dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the universe, it is a critical part of a balanced science programme that includes missions of various sizes,” he added. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way. SPHEREx will survey hundreds of millions of galaxies near and far, some so distant their light has taken 10 billion years to reach Earth. (IANS)

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