SPHEREx
SPHEREx on a work stand, being prepared for launch | |
| Names | Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Astrophysics |
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2025-047E |
| SATCAT no. | 63182 |
| Website | spherex |
| Mission duration | Planned: 25 months Elapsed: 3 months, 7 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | BAE Systems Inc. (Previously Ball Aerospace & Technologies) |
| Launch mass | 178 kg (392 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 12 March 2025, 03:10:00 UTC (11 March 2025, 8:10 pm PDT) |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Launch site | Vandenberg, SLC-4E |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Sun-synchronous, low Earth orbit |
| Altitude | 700 km (430 mi) |
| Inclination | 97° |
| Period | 90 minutes |
| Main telescope | |
| Diameter | 20 cm (7.9 in) |
| Wavelengths | Near-infrared |
| Transponders | |
| Band | S-band, Ka-band |
| Instruments | |
| Spectrophotometer | |
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is a near-infrared space observatory that will perform an all-sky survey to measure the near-infrared spectra of approximately 450 million galaxies. In February 2019, SPHEREx was selected by NASA for its next Medium-Class Explorers mission, beating out two competing mission concepts: Arcus and FINESSE. SPHEREx launched on 12 March 2025 on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket alongside the PUNCH microsatellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The principal investigator is James Bock at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California.