11 December 2024 SPHEREx will map the millions of stars and galaxies visible from our planet in every direction, "like scanning the inside of a globe." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. NASA's SPHEREx space observatory photographed at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in November 2024 after completing environmental testing. The spacecraft's three concentric cones help direct heat and light away from the telescope and other components, keeping them cool. (Image credit: BAE Systems) An ambitious NASA mission to map the sky in 3D using a space-based observatory now has a target launch date of late February 2025. NASA's compact car-sized observatory, called Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (or just SPHEREx for short), will map the millions of stars and galaxies visible from our planet in every direction, "like scanning the inside of a globe," according to an agency statement. The satellite will launch into a polar orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Using the sky map, SPHEREx has three scientific goals to achieve. First, by measuring the distribution of hundreds of millions of galaxies, NASA seeks to understand more about an ancient cosmic event called inflation, when the universe increased exponentially just fractions of a second after the Big Bang. If the observatory is successful, scientists may gain improved insight into the physics underlying inflation and what drove the phenomenon. You may like NASA's SPHEREx team rings bell at New York Stock Exchange | Space picture of the day for April 23, 2025