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NASA's SPHEREx Mission Will Investigate the Origins of the Universe (engadget.com)

Posted by msmash on from the marching-forward dept.

NASA announced this week that it will create the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer: SPHEREx for short. It'll look at how our universe has changed, and how common the ingredients of life are in the Milky Way. From a report: The space agency is aiming for a 2023 launch and has already earmarked $242 million for the project, not including launch costs, which is supposed to last for at least two years. Once SPHEREx is already in orbit, it will observe and collect data on over 300 million galaxies, some as far as 10 billion light-years away from Earth, and 100 million stars in our own Milky Way every six months. It will use technologies adapted from Earth satellites and Mars spacecraft to survey the sky in optical and near-infrared light. Since it will use 96 wavelengths in all, it will give NASA a way to create an extremely detailed sky map with a resolution that's much, much higher than previous ones.

10 of 20 comments (clear)

  1. Shallow truths by Camel+Pilot · · Score: 1

    Was reading Alistar McGrath this last week and he proclaimed the superiority of religion to science is that science can only reveal "shallow truths". I guess SPHEREx is just another attempt to discover shallow truths.

    https://www.abc.net.au/religio...

    1. Re:Shallow truths by Insanity+Defense · · Score: 1

      Ah yes. Shallow truths. Ones with evidence unlike the "deep truths".

  2. Won't it be out of date by the time we get it? by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

    If the Universe is constantly expanding at a rate greater than the speed of light, then won't any information we get on it's origins from this be out-of-date by the time we get it?

    1. Re:Won't it be out of date by the time we get it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      it's not constantly expanding, it's accelerating.

    2. Re:Won't it be out of date by the time we get it? by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      Same difference. By the time we get the data it's outdated.

  3. Heads up arses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Now, wouldn't properly funding an effort such as this be infinitely more beneficial to the U.S. and the rest of humanity than building a silly expensive wall that became obsolete about a century ago? I guess there's some perverse sort of continuum: a white whale coming from an orange whale.

    1. Re:Heads up arses by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      If an immigration crisis that peaked 20 years ago is a national emergency too urgent to wait for congress, the next president can declare the origin of the universe a 14 billion year national emergency too urgent to wait for congress.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
  4. Fun with Acronyms by Gornkleschnitzer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not sure how they manage to get "SPHEREx" out of that full title.

    But I guess SPHUERIE didn't sound catchy enough.

  5. Re: Such a deal! by Insanity+Defense · · Score: 1

    Why else would drumpf want a space force? Certainly not for NASA

    Money at 2nd or 3rd hand. Name in the history books - especially if he USES it.

  6. Answer by sumitsin · · Score: 1

    People do realize that the Space Force is just that part of the Air Force that launches.