SPICA (spacecraft)

<p>The Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), was a proposed <a href="/facts/Infrared/44XdJNcc">infrared</a> <a href="/facts/Space_telescope/BtI46sDX">space telescope</a>, follow-on to the successful <a href="/facts/Akari_(satellite)/3sL3D4Ev">Akari</a> space observatory. It was a collaboration between European and Japanese scientists, which was selected in May 2018 by the <a href="/facts/European_Space_Agency/L8YRNV0C">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) as a finalist for the next Medium class Mission 5 (M5) of the <a href="/facts/Cosmic_Vision/AfFu0drN">Cosmic Vision</a> programme, to launch in 2032. At the time the other two finalists were <a href="/facts/THESEUS_(satellite)/UTaUMGHu">THESEUS</a> and <a href="/facts/EnVision_(spacecraft)/QUhBnTAE">EnVision</a>, with the latter that was eventually selected for further development. SPICA would have improved on the spectral line sensitivity of previous missions, the <a href="/facts/Spitzer_Space_Telescope/Ic1xXIYb">Spitzer</a> and <a href="/facts/Herschel_Space_Observatory/WgQTnYjK">Herschel</a> space telescopes, between 30 and 230 μm by a factor of 50—100.
</p><p>A final decision was expected in 2021, but in October 2020, it was announced that SPICA was no longer being considered as a candidate for the M5 mission.
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SPICA (spacecraft) open-in-new

SPICA (spacecraft)