Herschel Space Observatory

A space-based telescope designed to study some of the coldest and darkest regions of the universe using infrared light, Herschel was responsible for numerous findings about dark matter, galaxies and other cosmic mysteries.

The telescope was decommissioned in April 2013 when it ran out of liquid coolant, as expected. However, astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which contributed key technology to and analyzed data from the European Space Agency mission, are still looking over the data to unveil new discoveries.

August 2011: The Herschel Space Observatory's large telescope and state-of-the-art infrared detectors provide the first confirmed finding of oxygen molecules in space -- discovered in the Orion star-forming complex.