NASA successfully launched its newest space telescope, SPHEREx, on Tuesday, marking a significant step in the quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe. The telescope, designed to map the entire sky in unprecedented color, was carried into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The mission, delayed due to bad weather and rocket-related issues after its original launch window opened on February 28, aims to provide insights into the origins and evolution of the universe. SPHEREx — short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer — is a $488 million project that will help scientists understand how galaxies formed and evolved over billions of years and how the universe expanded rapidly in its first moments after the Big Bang.

"SPHEREx is really trying to get at the origins of the universe — what happened in those very few first instants after the Big Bang," said SPHEREx instrument scientist Phil Korngut of Caltech.

Mapping the Cosmos in 102 Colors

The megaphone-shaped telescope will capture images in every direction around Earth, analyzing light from billions of cosmic sources, including stars and galaxies. By splitting this light into its component wavelengths, SPHEREx will determine the composition and distance of these objects, creating a three-dimensional map of the cosmos in 102 colors.

"We are the first mission to look at the whole sky in so many colors," said NASA scientist Jamie Bock. "Whenever astronomers look at the sky in a new way, we can expect discoveries."

Over six months, SPHEREx will survey the entire sky using its infrared eyes and wide field of view, gathering data on more than 450 million galaxies. Closer to home, the telescope will also search for water and other ingredients of life in the icy clouds between stars, where new solar systems are born.

PUNCH Mission to Study the Sun

Accompanying SPHEREx on the launch were four suitcase-sized satellites as part of the PUNCH mission, which aims to study the Sun. PUNCH — short for Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere — will investigate how the Sun's corona, its outer atmosphere, transforms into the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that fills the solar system.

"Together, they piece together the three-dimensional global view of the solar corona as it turns into the solar wind, which is the material that fills our whole solar system," said PUNCH mission scientist Nicholeen Viall.

A New Era of Discovery

The launch of SPHEREx and PUNCH represents a leap forward in space exploration, offering scientists new tools to study the universe and our own solar system in unprecedented detail. As SPHEREx begins its mission to map the cosmos and uncover the secrets of the early universe, astronomers around the world eagerly await the discoveries that lie ahead.

"This is an exciting time for astronomy and space science," said Bock. "We’re on the brink of unlocking new knowledge about the universe and our place within it."

With SPHEREx and PUNCH now in orbit, NASA continues to push the boundaries of human understanding, one launch at a time.