An orbital satellite developed in Europe was launched from Florida on a mission to investigate the enigmatic cosmic phenomena known as dark energy and dark matter, which, according to scientists, make up 95% of the cosmos we can see.
Saturday's SpaceX flight launched the Euclid Observatory on a 1.5 million kilometers journey near the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Euclid will begin its ambitious six-year study in the following autumn season after a month-long voyage.
German flight controllers cheered and applauded when the telescope communicated soon after liftoff. The main task of Euclid, named after the eminent Greek mathematician of antiquity, is to painstakingly scan the billions of galaxies that make up more than one-third of the universe, according to Euronews.
The two significant elements of the dark universe are the focus of the Euclid telescope's ground-breaking mission, which costs $1.4 billion. The first is dark matter, an enigmatic cosmic framework thought to impact development substantially and define the universe's structure while being unseen. The second is dark energy, an equally mysterious component discovered in the 1990s and assumed to be the cause of the universe's expansion's continued acceleration, according to Al Jazeera.
A partner in the Euclid project, NASA, is also ready to use its next Roman Space Telescope to investigate the mysteries of dark energy and matter. Additionally, experts anticipate that the US-European Webb telescope will help this joint effort.
What is Euclid's Next Move?
As the Euclid telescope has arrived at its destination in space and started communicating with Earth, its first goal is to adjust its course toward L2 (Lagrangian point 2). This crucial alignment phase will occur about two days after launch, with ongoing checks to ensure Euclid stays on course.
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In the next month, Euclid will go to L2, where it will gradually acclimate to the extreme cold of space while undergoing meticulous system and instrument inspections. Engineers will evaluate Euclid versus ground-based expectations in months 2 and 3, perhaps releasing calibration photos, per Space.com.
Giuseppe Racca, project manager for Euclid, said that after three months, the mission "should be ready to start scientific observations." However, some precise calibrations would still be needed. If testing goes well and there are no significant problems, Euclid should be completely operational in eight months.
Scientists Express Confidence
The calibration approach is comparable to that of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which underwent a similar process to L2 but with slight calibration difficulties. Euclid will scan large sky areas to analyze light bending around stars and galaxies, a vital sign of the dark universe. The JWST studies tiny parts of the cosmos.
The Euclid team places a premium on image quality since even seemingly unimportant elements like humidity may have an impact. Racca observed the irony of Euclid's launch from Florida on a usually cloudy July day, when a few nanometers of water ice on the optics may significantly affect picture quality.
A backup strategy is in place if Euclid experiences moisture contamination. René Laureijs, the project scientist, highlighted the difficulties in fixing such problems. The expert noted that they had to heat the two-ton satellite and cool it down again to eliminate the moisture if they encountered contamination. Laureijis is confident they could accomplish that, but it would interfere with the mission timetable.
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