The European Space Agency is preparing to launch its next space mission, Euclid. Manufactured under the project leadership of Thales Alenia Space, this unprecedented satellite aims to better understand the dark universe, i.e. dark matter and dark energy, the true nature of which we know very little. Euclid will launch on July 1 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Yes, Europe currently no longer has the capacity to launch its own satellites!
You will also be interested
[EN VIDÉO] In Video: 10 Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe Despite thousands of years of scientific advances, many questions about… still remain unanswered.
This weekend, a SpaceXSpaceX Falcon 9Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the European Space Agency’s (ESA) science satellite Euclid on an exciting mission. This unique satellite aims to better understand the dark universe, ie dark matter, dark matter and dark energy, about the true nature of which very little is known.
To do this, Euclid will conduct its observations from its orbit around the L2 Lagrange point.Lagrange point L2 of the Sun-Earth system, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, opposite the SunSun, where the James Observatory is currently located located -Webb. The satellite will take a month to reach its final position. Euclid’s commissioning time will last eight months, including 30 days for the return to its final orbit. Scientific observations could begin as early as October 2023, with a first series of images intended primarily to stimulate public engagement and, above all, to test the performance of the satellite and its instruments. Euclid is scheduled for full go-live in April 2024.
The end of the mission is planned for autumn 2029 after six years of observation, with the possibility of conducting another year.
Map an entire section of the universe
“Dark EnergyDark energy and dark matter are revealed through the rather subtle changes they cause in the appearance of objects in the visible universe; otherwise we would not know of their existence,” said project scientist René Laureijs. Euclid will be able to see these effects more clearly than any other observatory before it, be it on land or in space. To do this, he will use two optical instruments, a visible-light imaging sensor and a near-infrared spectrophotometer, which will work together to find out where dark matter might be hiding by mapping its effects on visible objects.
Euclid, a powerful space telescope that “might challenge the theory of relativity”!
Euclid will map the last 10 billion years of cosmic history across more than a third of the sky, from cosmic noon, when most stars formed, to the present day. This review will show us the variations in cosmic acceleration with pinpoint accuracy and will reveal the nature of dark energy, thereby revealing the nature of dark energy.
Did you know ?
An unknown “dark energy” appears to be driving our universe’s currently accelerating expansion, but scientists don’t understand how or why.
The five main mysteries that Euclid will solve:
- What is the structure of the cosmic web?
- What is the history of the cosmic web?
- What is the nature of dark matter?
- how the expansion of the universe has evolved over time;
- Is our understanding of gravity complete?