NASA to Launch SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions: How to Watch

Two NASA missions are ready for a late-night launch aboard a single rocket.Both aim to unravel mysteries about the universe — one by peering far from Earth, the other by looking closer to home.The rocket’s chief passenger is SPHEREx, a space telescope that will take images of the entire sky in more than a hundred colors that are invisible to the human eye.

Accompanying the telescope is a suite of satellites known collectively as PUNCH, which will study the sun’s outer atmosphere and solar wind.Here’s what to know about the launch on Saturday night.When will the missions launch, and how can I watch?SPHEREx and PUNCH are expected to lift off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California no earlier than Saturday, March 8, at 10:09 p.m.Eastern time.

The duo is flying on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.The launch date has been pushed back several times so that mission specialists can ensure the rocket is ready to fly.Should weather or other conditions prevent liftoff from occurring on Saturday, the launch window remains open through April.NASA is streaming a live broadcast of the launch on its website, beginning at 9:15 p.m.

Eastern time on Saturday.What is SPHEREx?SPHEREx is short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer.The mouthful of a name is fitting for the vastness of its goal: to survey the entire sky in 102 colors, or wavelengths, of infrared light.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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