The US launches a telescope to study how the universe began

^{Photo: NASA}
The United States plans to launch the SPHEREx space observatory into orbit in early March, NASA reported.

The spacecraft will collect data aimed at studying the process of the formation of the universe, a process called inflation, when the universe expanded a trillion times in size within a second after the Big Bang, turning into a vast and expanding universe.

SPHEREx will map the universe by collecting data in optical and infrared light. The telescope can detect infrared light, which is difficult to observe from Earth. The spectrophotometer will be used to map the entire sky in 102 infrared bands and collect data on billions of celestial objects.

The SPHEREx mission will last 2.5 years, during which time the device will create the first infrared 3D map of the universe.

The satellite, weighing about half a ton, is estimated to cost $ 488 million, and a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will be used to launch SPHEREx. The device will be launched from the US Space Force's Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Falcon 9 rocket will also put into orbit four American satellites created as part of the PUNCH project to study the solar corona and solar wind. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”