NASA’s newest astrophysics observatory, SPHEREx, is preparing to study the origins of our universe and the history of galaxies and to search for the ingredients of life in our galaxy.

Falcon 9 Launch

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket; Photo: NASA
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket; Photo: NASA

SPHEREx lifted off at 8:10 p.m. PDT on March 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Traveling alongside SPHEREX are four small satellites making up the agency’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which aims to study how the Sun’s outer atmosphere becomes solar wind.

“Everything in NASA science is interconnected, and sending both SPHEREx and PUNCH up on a single rocket doubles the opportunities to do incredible science in space,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Congratulations to both mission teams as they explore the cosmos from far-out galaxies to our neighborhood star. I am excited to see the data returned in the years to come.”

The observatory will begin a two-year prime mission an approximately one-month checkout period. This stint will ensure the spacecraft is functioning properly.

“The fact our amazing SPHEREx team kept this mission on track even as the Southern California wildfires swept through our community is a testament to their remarkable commitment to deepening humanity’s understanding of our universe,” said Laurie Leshin, director, NASA JPL. “We now eagerly await the scientific breakthroughs from SPHEREx’s all-sky survey — including insights into how the universe began and where the ingredients of life reside.”

SPHEREx & PUNCH

Ground controllers established communication with all four PUNCH spacecraft after the satellites separated. PUNCH now begins a 90-day commissioning period where the four satellites will enter an orbital formation, and scientists will begin analyzing images of solar wind.

The missions are designed to operate in a Sun-synchronous orbit over the sun, so the sun always remains in the same position relative to the spacecraft. This allows SPHEREX to keep its telescope shielded from the Sun’s light and heat, which would inhibit its observations.

SPHEREX will also create a 3D map of the entire celestial sky every six months. This wide perspective will complement small-scale observations made by space telescopes, such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope.

The mission also will measure the total collective glow of all the galaxies in the universe, potentially acquiring new insights into how galaxies formed and evolved over time. SPHEREx will survey our home galaxy for hidden reservoirs of frozen water ice and other molecules, like carbon dioxide, that are essential to life as we know it.

“Questions like ‘How did we get here?’ and ‘Are we alone?’ have been asked by humans for all of history,” said James Fanson, SPHEREx project manager at JPL. “I think it’s incredible that we are alive at a time when we have the scientific tools to actually start to answer them.