{"id":46576,"date":"2023-06-22T09:35:56","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T09:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=119659"},"modified":"2023-06-22T11:32:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T11:32:33","slug":"euclid-a-new-mission-to-study-the-dark-universe-launches-in-july","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/euclid-a-new-mission-to-study-the-dark-universe-launches-in-july\/","title":{"rendered":"Euclid: A new mission to study the dark Universe launches in July"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new European space telescope will tackle the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. <\/p>

By Govert Schilling\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 22 June 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Look at the numerous eye-catching images of space available online and marvel at the beauty of the cosmos.<\/p>\n

Then realise that everything we can see with astronomical telescopes \u2013 stars<\/a>, nebulae<\/a>, galaxies<\/a> \u2013 amounts to a mere 5% of the total content of the Universe.<\/p>\n

The remaining 95% is composed of two mysterious components: dark energy<\/a> \u2013 the \u2018force\u2019 behind the accelerating expansion of the Universe<\/a> \u2013 and dark matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We know they exist, but their true nature eludes us.<\/p>\n

\""A\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A dark matter halo mapped in galaxy Abell 1689. Credit: NASA, ESA, E. Jullo (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), P. Natarajan (Yale University), and J.-P. Kneib (Laboratoire d\u2019Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS, France); Acknowledgment: H. Ford and N. Benetiz (Johns Hopkins University), and T. Broadhurst (Tel Aviv University)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Enter Euclid<\/a>, the next space mission in the Cosmic Vision science programme of the European Space Agency (ESA).<\/p>\n

Due to launch into space in the first half of July 2023 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, this ambitious space telescope will focus on the dark Universe by mapping and studying no less than two billion galaxies.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing like this has ever been done before,\u201d says Euclid\u2019s independent legacy scientist Ivan Baldry of Liverpool John Moores University<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Euclid\u2019s observations will reveal the expansion history of our Universe (which is governed by dark energy) and the three-dimensional distribution of mass (which mainly consists of dark matter).<\/p>\n

As a bonus, the mission will check whether Albert Einstein\u2019s general theory of relativity is the right formulation of gravity<\/a> on cosmic scales.<\/p>\n

According to project manager Giuseppe Racca at ESTEC<\/a> (ESA\u2019s science and technology centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands), \u201cThis combination is the unique selling point of Euclid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Like\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Like the James Webb Space Telescope, Euclid will conduct its science from Lagrange point L2, 1.5 million kilometres out from Earth.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Launching the Euclid mission<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Euclid mission was selected in 2011 and formally adopted by ESA in the summer of 2012.<\/p>\n

NASA became a partner in the project in early 2013.<\/p>\n

At present, the Euclid consortium has about 2,000 members from 13 European countries plus the United States.<\/p>\n

The original plan was to launch the spacecraft from French Guiana on a Russian Soyuz rocket<\/a> in late 2022, but after Russia invaded Ukraine, <\/span>cooperation between ESA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos was suspended, and Euclid found itself in need of an alternative launcher.<\/p>\n

\""ESA\u2019s\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
ESA\u2019s Euclid spacecraft arrived at Port Canaveral in Florida on 30 April 2023. Credit: Thales Alenia Space \/ ImagIn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Before long, given the repeated delays of the ongoing development of the European Ariane 6, the choice fell on the commercial Falcon 9 rocket of Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to get used to a whole different working environment,\u201d says Racca.\u00a0\u201cAt SpaceX, I hardly met anyone who was older than my own children,\u201d he quips.<\/p>\n

Meetings were held without detailed minutes being kept. Changes in the launch strategy to accommodate the relatively low mass of Euclid were made almost overnight. But it all went very smoothly and fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019ve been worried,\u201d Racca admits, \u201cbut I\u2019m confident nevertheless. After all, the Falcon 9 has only had two failures on more than 200 launches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""In\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
In the pipeline since 2011, Euclid was delayed by the war in Ukraine and will now launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Copyright: ESA\u2013S. Corvaja<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Euclid\u2019s stats and figures<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Euclid spacecraft was constructed by Thales Alenia Space in Italy. Measuring 4.5 metres tall and 3.1 metres in diameter, the launch mass is about two tonnes.<\/p>\n

Euclid\u2019s payload module, built by Airbus Defence and Space in France, consists of a 1.2-metre telescope (with an optical quality superior to anything like it, according to Racca) and two scientific instruments:<\/p>\n