SPHEREx Press Kit
NASA’s latest space telescope, SPHEREx, will map the universe like none before it, providing a big-picture view that will illuminate the origins of our universe, galaxies within it, and life’s key ingredients in our own galaxy. Short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, SPHEREx will observe hundreds of millions of galaxies and other objects during its two-year mission, mapping the cosmos in wavelengths invisible to the human eye. The mission is targeting a late-February 2025 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SPHEREx is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for NASA’s Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The principal investigator is based at Caltech in Pasadena, California, which manages JPL for NASA.
8 Things to Know About SPHEREx
Space telescopes like NASA’s Hubble and Webb have zoomed in on many corners of the universe to show us planets, stars, and galaxies in high resolution. But some questions can be answered only by looking at the big picture. Using 102 color filters to map the entire sky, what new discoveries could SPHEREx help unlock? Here are eight key facts about the mission.
1. The SPHEREx mission will help answer some of the biggest questions in astrophysics.
Star cluster Trumpler 14. Credit: NASA/ESA | Full Image
The mission contributes to NASA’s key scientific goals to discover the secrets of the universe and search for life beyond Earth. Its all-sky map will help scientists answer major questions about why the large-scale structure of the universe looks the way it does, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water and other key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
2. It adds unique strengths to NASA’s fleet of space telescopes.
SPHEREx, depicted second from right, joins a line of NASA space telescopes that includes, from left, Hubble, Spitzer, WISE, Webb, and Roman. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | Full Image
The mission’s ability to scan the entire sky quickly and gather data on billions of stars and galaxies complements the work of more targeted telescopes, like NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes. While those telescopes can provide a more detailed look at a given target, survey telescopes like SPHEREx provide broader context and search for trends across entire categories of objects, including stars and galaxies.
3. This observatory will make the most colorful all-sky map ever.
Artist’s concept of SPHEREx. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | Full Image
It “sees” in the infrared range, which consists of wavelengths the human eye can’t detect. Using a technique called spectroscopy, the telescope splits light into 102 colors (individual wavelengths) like a prism creates a rainbow from sunlight. This enables it to detect evidence of chemical compounds and molecules, each of which has a unique signature in the colors it absorbs and emits. Spectroscopy can also help scientists measure how far away objects are, making it ideal for studying distant galaxies and mapping their locations in 3D.
4. The mission will shed light on a cosmic phenomenon called inflation that took place less than a second after the big bang.
A simulation of the large-scale structure of the universe. Points of light are groups of galaxies. Credit: NASA/GSFC/AVL NCSA | Full Image
Less than one second after the big bang — the first billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second, to be precise — space itself increased in size by a trillion-trillionfold. The SPHEREx mission will help scientists understand the physics that drove this nearly instantaneous event, called inflation. Small differences in the distribution of matter were amplified by inflation, influencing the large-scale structure of the universe today. The SPHEREx observatory will measure the distribution of hundreds of millions of galaxies to help scientists understand what drove inflation and to improve our understanding of the physics behind this extreme cosmic event.
5. It will measure the collective glow from galaxies near and far, including hidden galaxies that have not been individually observed.
New tools yield new discoveries: The Hubble telescope peered into small patches of sky, revealing thousands of galaxies that our human eyes can’t see. Using a different technique, SPHEREx will unveil the light of hidden galaxies on a universal scale. Credit: NASA/ESA/UC Santa Cruz/Leiden University/HUDF09 | Full Image
Scientists have tried to estimate the total light output from all galaxies throughout cosmic history by observing individual galaxies and extrapolating to the trillions of galaxies in the universe. The SPHEREx space telescope will measure the total glow from all galaxies, including galaxies that are too small or too distant for other telescopes to easily detect. This will give scientists a more complete picture of all the objects and sources radiating in the universe.
6. The mission will search the Milky Way galaxy for essential building blocks of life.
Interstellar clouds such as Chamaeleon I, shown captured by NASA’s Webb telescope here, can contain simple icy molecules that become incorporated in future planets. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA | Full Image
Life as we know it wouldn’t exist without basic ingredients such as water and carbon dioxide. The SPHEREx observatory is designed to find these molecules frozen in interstellar clouds where stars and planets form. The mission will help scientists discover the location and abundance of these icy compounds in our galaxy, giving them a better sense of how likely they are to be incorporated into newly forming planets.
7. The observatory stays cold thanks to its unique cone-shaped design.
Artist’s concept of SPHEREx showing its telescope within cone-shaped photon shields. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | Full Image
The mission’s telescope and detectors need to operate around minus 350 degrees Fahrenheit (about minus 210 degrees Celsius); otherwise, they will generate their own infrared glow that might overwhelm the faint light from cosmic sources. SPHEREx relies on an entirely passive cooling system — no electricity or coolants are used, simplifying the spacecraft’s design and operational needs. Key components of this system include three cone-shaped photon shields to protect the telescope from the heat of Earth and the Sun, as well as a mirrored structure beneath the shields to direct heat from the instrument out into space.
8. The all-sky map generated by SPHEREx will be freely available to scientists around the world.
Artist’s concept of SPHEREx in Earth orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | Full Image
The mission will generate a new encyclopedia of information about hundreds of millions of celestial objects — including stars, galaxies, and even asteroids in our own solar system — most of which haven’t been studied with spectroscopy before. Researchers will be able to access this mission’s massive treasure trove of new cosmic data from anywhere on the globe.
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