NASA's new mission will create the most colorful 3D map of the entire sky

SPHEREx will launch into space on Friday, February 28 , and will scan the sky four times over the next two years. By the end of the mission, every point in the sky will have been recorded in 102 different infrared hues, providing a level of detail never seen before in any all-sky map.

"We're going to look at everything in the sky and measure the spectrum of every pixel. We're going to analyze all kinds of objects, including planets, stars, galaxies, and comets," said Olivier Doré, an astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and SPHEREx project scientist. This data will be a big step toward understanding the overall structure and composition of the universe.

Three main scientific objectives

SPHEREx has three main goals: to investigate what the universe looked like just after the Big Bang; to measure the total amount of light in the universe by mapping the light emitted from all galaxies; and to determine the presence of water and other elements critical to life in the Milky Way.

To achieve these goals, SPHEREx will analyze the spectra of light in the universe and provide information on the distance and direction of motion of the light source.

450 million galaxies to be mapped

The 3D map that SPHEREx will eventually create will include the relative positions of 450 million galaxies. This data will be used to test theories of cosmic inflation , which is thought to have occurred in the early universe.

If the density of galaxies is the same throughout the universe, a simple inflationary model may be supported. If the distribution is uneven, unknown physical processes may be at play.

Measuring all the light in the history of the universe

SPHEREx will also be used to calculate all the light emitted since the beginning of the universe. The data will help understand where the light came from, when it was emitted, and how it changed over time.

Searching for traces of life in our galaxy

SPHEREx will illuminate the formation conditions of potentially habitable planets by searching for critical life-sustaining compounds in the Milky Way, such as water ice, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. The presence of these elements in molecular clouds increases the likelihood that these components are transported to young planets.

Data collected by SPHEREx will be combined with narrower but deeper-viewing observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to give scientists the opportunity for more comprehensive analysis. "If SPHEREx makes an interesting discovery , Webb can examine it at higher resolution. These two telescopes could form a powerful partnership," said Gary Melnick, a member of the SPHEREx team.