SPHEREx
Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer (NASA)
Operational · 2025- Operator
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Launched
- March 11, 2025
- Launch vehicle
- SpaceX Falcon 9 — Vandenberg Space Force Base (SLC-4E)
- Orbit
- Sun-synchronous polar low Earth orbit
- Primary mission
- ~2 years — first all-sky near-infrared spectroscopic survey
- Program
- NASA Astrophysics Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX)
SPHEREx — Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer — is a NASA space observatory managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It launched on March 11, 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
From its sun-synchronous polar orbit, SPHEREx is conducting the first all-sky spectroscopic survey in the near-infrared, collecting low-resolution spectra of more than 450 million galaxies and over 100 million stars in the Milky Way during its two-year planned mission. Its three core science objectives are to investigate the physics of cosmic inflation in the very early universe, to chart the history of galactic light production across cosmic time, and to measure the abundance of water and other biogenic ices around forming stars in our own galaxy.
Alethium's role
Alethium contributed to the SPHEREx ground system and supporting software as part of its continued JPL mission-operations work.