After a short delay, NASA is set to launch two missions this weekend, SPHEREx and PUNCH, that will map the cosmos and track the Sun’s influence on space.
For NASA, it’s one down and one to go. Yesterday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer, successfully lifting off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. And now it’s time for SPHEREx and PUNCH, which were originally expected to launch on Friday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The two missions, both encapsulated inside a Falcon 9, are now slated to take off at 10:09 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 2. Both Lunar Trailblazer and SPHEREx are supported by the California Institute of Technology’s Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, or IPAC.
Lunar Trailblazer launched to the Moon on Wednesday at 7:16 p.m. ET. The mission will map water, minerals, and temperatures on the lunar surface using two science instruments, dubbed High Resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3) and the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM). The maps produced by the mission will help NASA and other researchers determine the best locations for future robotic and human missions on our rocky satellite, including those investigating lunar ice and the potential for harvesting water.
The Lunar Trailblazer is a product of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (or SIMPLEx) program, which provides an avenue for development of low-cost missions. To wit, the Lunar Trailblazer hitched a ride with three other spacecraft—including Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 lunar lander—into space. You can read more about the lunar lander on NASA’s website and watch the missions’ launch on NASA’s YouTube channel—which we’ve linked below for your convenience. You can also read more about the trailblazer and the other missions that are part of Thursday’s payload in our complete coverage of the launch.
Next up are SPHEREx and PUNCH. SPHEREx—short for the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer—will tackle several objectives. The mission aims to refine our understanding of cosmic inflation, trace the history of light from galaxies, and study the role of water and ices in star and planet formation.
SPHEREx’s nominal mission is set to last just over two years, and when operational, the mission will provide the first near-infrared all-sky spectral survey to astronomers. According to a Caltech release, the observatory is uniquely equipped to conduct a large-scale survey of the Milky Way for water ice and other frozen compounds.
SPHEREx will also launch with a companion payload: PUNCH, or the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere. PUNCH consists of four satellites that will form a constellation in low-Earth orbit, from which they make global, 3D observations of the inner heliosphere and better understand how the Sun’s corona gives way to the solar wind. A pre-launch press conference will be streamed live on the NASA+ app on Saturday, March 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The launch will be livestreamed, which you’re welcome to watch below. Launch coverage should begin around 9:15 p.m. ET on Sunday.
With SPHEREx’s launch on Sunday, we will close out a tumultuous month in spaceflight—one crammed with rocket launches, debris falls, and significant progress and sneak peeks into space agencies’ plans for future missions.
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