The two NASA missions are ready to be launched late at night on a single rocket. Both aim to unravel the mysteries about the universe. One is a peer as the other approaches the house, one is far from the earth.
The main passenger on the rocket is the Spherex. This is a space telescope that captures images of the entire sky of over 100 colors that cannot be seen by the human eye. Attached to the telescope is a suite of satellites, collectively known as punches, which study the atmosphere and solar wind outside the sun.
Here's what you need to know about Saturday night launches:
When will the mission be launched? How can I see it?
Spherex and Punch are expected to lift from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base by 10:09pm east time on Saturday, March 8th. The duo is flying a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The release date was pushed back several times so that mission specialists could confirm that the rocket was ready for flight. If weather or other conditions prevent lift-offs from occurring on Saturday, the launch window will remain open until April.
NASA is streaming live launch broadcasts on its website on Saturday from 9:15pm east time.
What is Spherex?
Spherex stands for the history of the universe, the age of reionization, and Ice Explorer's spectrophotometer. The name of the bite matches the vastness of its goal. It is to investigate the entire sky with 102 colors or wavelengths of infrared rays.
The space telescope, which looks like a giant megaphone, records around 600 images every day, captures light from millions of stars in the backyard of space, bringing even more galaxies. Using a technique called spectroscopy, Spherex separates light into different wavelengths. Glass prisms divide the white light into rainbows of color. The color spectrum of objects in space reveals information about their chemical composition and distance from the Earth.
Scientists use Spherex data to investigate how the total light emitted from galaxies has changed over time in the universe, charting where frozen waters and other essential components of life exist in the Milky Way. A three-dimensional map of how galaxies are today unevenly aggregated throughout the universe – some thick parts of galactic gas and dust, others are more sparse – helps researchers to infer the physics behind inflation.
What is a punch?
The punch, led by the South West Research Institute, stands for polarity meter to unify the COVID-19 and Heliosphere. The mission consists of four satellites, each of which is the size of a suitcase.
One satellite has a coronagraph, which takes photos of the sun's corona or the outside atmosphere.
The other three are equipped with cameras for a wider view of the solar breeze. It is a hot plasma that erupts from the coronavirus of the sun that washes the solar system.
Each satellite has three polarizing filters, during which only waves of light arranged in a particular direction can pass. This is similar to how polarized sunglasses block glare. By measuring polarization, scientists can reconstruct the three-dimensional position, velocity and direction of solar wind as they move away from the sun.
These measurements help solar physicists understand the boundary where the sun ends and the solar wind begins. Satellites also observe coronal mass ejections, intense solar explosions as they evolve on their way to Earth. This data helps predictors better predict the potential impact of space weather, from power outages to glittering aurora.
Where do Spherex and Punch go?
Both missions orbit around 400 miles above the Earth's Terminator. The lines circulate the North and Antarctica, separated by the day and night of our planet. This type of orbit is known as solar synchronization because it directs the spacecraft in the same position compared to our Sun.
This is advantageous for Punch, as the satellite's constellations can clearly view the sun at any point along its orbit. Spherex also allows you to stay away from the sun and avoid infrared light from home stars, which can hide faint signals from distant stars and galaxies.
