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Planck

Planck

Designed to study ancient radiation from the big bang, the Planck space telescope was a European Space Agency mission that aimed to better understand the origin of the universe and the formation of galaxies.

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Mission Statistics

Launch Date

May 14, 2009

Type

Orbiter

Target

Stars and Galaxies

Status

Past

About the mission

Designed to study ancient radiation from the big bang, the Planck space telescope was a European Space Agency mission that aimed to better understand the origin of the universe and the formation of galaxies. Planck produced its first all-sky image in 2010, and scientists are currently working to analyze and parse the various and complex elements. Analysis has already highlighted numerous star-forming clouds across the Milky Way galaxy as well as a previously invisible population of galaxies covered in dust billions of years old.

NASA had significant participation in the Planck mission, which used instruments from the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Instruments

  • Low Frequency Instrument (LFI)
  • High Frequency Instrument (HFI)

More about Stars and Galaxies

News.

‘Interstellar Glaciers’: NASA’s SPHEREx Maps Vast Galactic Ice Regions

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NASA’s SPHEREx Mission Maps Water Ice Throughout Cygnus X

Video.

What's Up - April 2026

Video.

What's Up - March 2026

Video.

What's Up - February 2026

News.

Archival Data From NASA’s NEOWISE Tracks Star Turning Into Black Hole

News.

NASA Reveals New Details About Dark Matter’s Influence on Universe

Image.

Dark Matter Revealed in Webb, Hubble Observations

Image.

Webb Data Reveals Dark Matter

Video.

What's Up - January 2026

  • › Mission Website
  • › NASA Mission Page
  • › Planck Information on National Space Science Data Center
  • › ESA Mission Page
  • › Planck on Twitter

Explore Other Missions

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