[News Today] S.KOREA-US JOINT SPACE TELESCOPE

[LEAD]
After eight delays, the next-generation space telescope SPHEREx, a collaborative effort between South Korean and American researchers, has successfully launched. Designed to detect elusive infrared light from the ground, SPHEREx is set to create the world's first three-dimensional map of the universe.

[REPORT]
Infrared space telescope SPHEREx was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

It was a notable, hard-earned success achieved after eight delays.

The SPHEREx space observatory the size of a small car is equipped with a lens 20 centimeters in diameter.

This feature allows SPHEREx to observe a wider area than conventional space telescopes at one sweep.

Jamie Bock/ SPHEREx Science Mission Leader
It's a big telescope and it's harder to move over the entire sky. For example, with our survey of ice regions over millions of sources, you can sift through those objects and pick the most interesting ones.

SPHEREx will orbit the Earth for about two years and measure the distribution of galaxies.

During this time, infrared light will survey the entire sky by classifying it into 102 different colors, which will be used to make the world's first 3-dimensional map of the universe.

The telescope will also examine the distribution of ice components between the stars to find out if there are planets with water outside of the solar system.

SPHEREx is NASA's nearly 200-million-dollar space exploration project and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute was the only foreign space agency to participate.

Lee Bo-mi/ Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
We made a vacuum chamber where the SPHEREx telescope can be tested to see if it functions well.

Having successfully established communication, SPHEREx will undergo the initial operation phase and start test observation for about 37 days.