SPHEREx Mission: The Cosmic Ice Detective Hunting for Water in the Galaxy.

NASA’s SPHEREx mission will explore the Milky Way to detect water ice and other essential life ingredients, focusing on molecular clouds like this one captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA.

Imagine a space telescope playing detective, scouring the galaxy for clues about where water—the key ingredient for life—is hiding. That’s exactly what NASA’s SPHEREx mission is set to do when it launches no earlier than February 27, 2025. This cosmic detective, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer, will search for water ice and other life-essential compounds like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. And guess what? It’s going to do it in 3D!

Why Water?

The Perseus Molecular Cloud, 1,000 light-years away, was imaged by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. SPHEREx will search for water ice and other compounds in similar gas and dust clouds. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Water is like the VIP of the universe when it comes to life. Scientists have long followed the mantra, “follow the water,” to find potential habitats beyond Earth. But where does all this water come from? SPHEREx is on a mission to find out. It’ll explore molecular clouds—those massive, dusty nurseries where stars and planets are born—to track down water ice clinging to tiny dust grains.

Think of it this way: Earth’s oceans probably started as icy dust grains in space. So, if we want to understand how planets like ours get their water, we need to look at these cosmic ice factories.

What’s SPHEREx’s Superpower?

BAE Systems employees prepare NASA's SPHEREx observatory at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, for its February 27 launch to map the sky in infrared light.

Unlike traditional telescopes that take flat, 2D images, SPHEREx will capture 3D data. This means it can map out where water ice and other compounds are hiding in molecular clouds. Over its mission, SPHEREx will make more than 9 million observations, creating the largest-ever survey of water and other icy materials in space.

Gary Melnick, a senior astronomer on the SPHEREx team, explains, “We’ve known for a while that water ice is out there, but SPHEREx will give us the most detailed map yet of where it is and how it’s distributed.”

The Mystery of the Missing Water.

Here’s a fun cosmic mystery: Back in 1998, NASA’s Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) found way less gaseous water in molecular clouds than expected. Where did all the water go? Turns out, it was hiding as ice, stuck to dust grains.

Melnick says, “We realized that the water was there all along—just in solid form. Oxygen atoms were sticking to dust grains and combining with hydrogen to make water ice.” SPHEREx will help us understand how this process works and how much water is really out there.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.

SPHEREx isn’t working alone. It’s part of a cosmic tag team with other telescopes like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. SPHEREx will scan large areas of the sky, and if it finds something interesting, Webb can zoom in for a closer look.

“SPHEREx is like the scout,” says Melnick. “It finds the promising spots, and Webb follows up with its super-detailed observations. Together, they’re a powerhouse for uncovering the secrets of the universe.”

What’s Next?

Once SPHEREx launches, it’ll spend two years mapping the sky, hunting for water ice and other compounds. The data it collects will be available to scientists worldwide, helping us piece together the story of how water—and potentially life—spreads across the galaxy.

So, the next time you take a sip of water, remember: that water might have started its journey as ice on a tiny dust grain in a molecular cloud billions of years ago. And thanks to SPHEREx, we’re one step closer to understanding how it got here.

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