NASA's SPHEREx Telescope Set to Launch Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 on February 28

NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) telescope is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on February 28. The $488 million mission will map the entire sky in 3D using wavelengths invisible to the human eye. Over two years, SPHEREx aims to catalog over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way. Scientists anticipate the data will provide insights into the universe's large-scale structure, galaxy formation, and the origins of water and other key ingredients for life. SPHEREx will map the entire sky twice a year. Its spectrophotometer will split light into 102 colors, identifying signatures of basic life molecules in interstellar clouds. SPHEREx is launching with NASA's PUNCH mission, which will study the heliosphere using four satellites.