NASA has successfully launched its SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission to search the cosmos for the ingredients needed for life. The astrophysics observatory will also conduct regular “all-sky” surveys to build a map to guide observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Telescope in their life-hunting missions.
The same launch included the PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) constellation, which will measure the behavior of the solar wind in unprecedented detail. The two missions represent the American Space Agency’s continued commitment to fundamental science and the search for life.
According to a NASA statement, the two missions lifted off at 8:10 p.m. PDT on March 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Just over 80 minutes later, at 9:31 PDT, SPHEREx program managers established communication with SPHEREx. The team will run SPHEREx through its paces over the next month before beginning its two-year primary mission.
“The fact our amazing SPHEREx team kept this mission on track even as the Southern California wildfires swept through our community is a testament to their remarkable commitment to deepening humanity’s understanding of our universe,” said Laurie Leshin, director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “We now eagerly await the scientific breakthroughs from SPHEREx’s all-sky survey — including insights into how the universe began and where the ingredients of life reside.”
Two missions took the carpool lane to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket 🚀
SPHEREx, which will survey the entire sky, and PUNCH, which will study the Sun, successfully launched from @SLDelta30 on March 11 at 11:10pm ET (March 12 0310 UTC): https://t.co/tTLK2ynJGS
— NASA (@NASA) March 12, 2025
While SPHEREx is one satellite, PUNCH is four satellites operating as one instrument. According to NASA, PUNCH separated from the spacecraft 53 minutes after launch. Ground controllers were able to establish a connection with all four satellites successfully. Unlike SPHEREx, PUNCH is expected to undergo a 90-day “commissioning period,” during which the satellites will be placed in their proper orbits. The satellites will then be programmed to operate as a single “virtual instrument” capable of studying the Sun and the solar wind in greater detail than ever.
“The space between planets is not an empty void. It’s full of turbulent solar wind that washes over Earth,” said Craig DeForest, the mission’s principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute. “The PUNCH mission is designed to answer basic questions about how stars like our Sun produce stellar winds and how they give rise to dangerous space weather events right here on Earth.”
SPHEREx NASA
NASA launches SPHEREx and Punch (Image Credit: SpaceX).
Both missions are designed to operate in a Sun-synchronous orbit over Earth’s terminator (also known as the day/night line), keeping the sun in the same place relative to the spacecraft. SPHEREx is also facing away from the sun to scan the cosmos without interference from its light or heat.
lucid dreams
During its planned mission, SPHEREx will scan the entire sky every six months to generate an all-sky map. This 3D map of the cosmos will include measuring the distances of 450 million galaxies beyond the Milky Way and measuring the background “glow” of the cosmos. Mission planners say adding tools like PUNCH and SPHEREx can help science answer the biggest questions.
“Questions like ‘How did we get here?’ and ‘Are we alone?’ have been asked by humans for all of history,” said James Fanson, SPHEREx project manager at JPL. “I think it’s incredible that we are alive at a time when we have the scientific tools to actually start to answer them.”
Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, agreed, noting how sending SPHEREx and PUNCH up on a single rocket “doubles the opportunities to do incredible science in space.”
“Congratulations to both mission teams as they explore the cosmos from far-out galaxies to our neighborhood star. I am excited to see the data returned in the years to come,” Fox added.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him onX,learn about his books atplainfiction.com, or email him directly atchristopher@thedebrief.org.