SPHEREx

<p>SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is a <a href="/facts/Infrared_astronomy/WEmAadyf">near-infrared</a> <a href="/facts/Space_observatory/BtI46sDX">space observatory</a> that will perform an <a href="/facts/All-sky_survey/6BE1V8V6">all-sky survey</a> to measure the <a href="/facts/Near-infrared/44XdJNcc">near-infrared</a> spectra of approximately 450 million <a href="/facts/Galaxy/zCyUvEf7">galaxies</a>. In February 2019, SPHEREx was selected by <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> for its next <a href="/facts/Explorers_program/UAWJXqxP">Medium-Class Explorers</a> mission, beating out two competing mission concepts: <i><a href="/facts/Arcus_(satellite)/1xveV0ko">Arcus</a></i> and <a href="/facts/Fast_Infrared_Exoplanet_Spectroscopy_Survey_Explorer/MqPmMXn9">FINESSE</a>. SPHEREx launched on 12 March 2025 on a <a href="/facts/Falcon_9_Block_5/0QqsLwWb">Falcon 9 Block 5</a> rocket alongside the <a href="/facts/Polarimeter_to_Unify_the_Corona_and_Heliosphere/ouEkMHl2">PUNCH</a> microsatellites from <a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg Space Force Base</a>. The principal investigator is James Bock at <a href="/facts/California_Institute_of_Technology/3FPcp7BL">California Institute of Technology</a> (Caltech) in <a href="/facts/Pasadena%2c_California/Y6AEEI03">Pasadena, California</a>.
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SPHEREx open-in-new

SPHEREx